The Good Dinosaur: The Sounding Of A Meteor
by MegalexActevum
Summary: A family of Apatosaurus dinosaurs have their lives flipped upside-down when a nine mile-wide meteorite slams into the Earth, creating havoc all around. With teamwork from various friends along the way, and lessons to be learnt, it is up to them to find their way back home in time. And it seems that on this adventure, they aren't the only ones worrying about Clawtooth Mountain.
1. Page 01 - From Start to Finish

_"It has been said, 'time heals all wounds.' I do not agree. The wounds remain. In time, the mind, protecting its sanity, covers them with scar tissue and the pain lessens. But it is never gone." - Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy._

 _"For what it's worth: it's never too late or, in my case, too early to be whoever you want to be. There's no time limit, stop whenever you want. You can change or stay the same, there are no rules to this thing. We can make the best or the worst of it. I hope you make the best of it. And I hope you see things that startle you. I hope you feel things you never felt before. I hope you meet people with a different point of view. I hope you live a life you're proud of. If you find that you're not, I hope you have the courage to start all over again." - Eric Roth._

* * *

"It is certain that nothing lasts forever, even the mountains break eventually. Experience has told me that, both metaphorically and physically. But that was long ago, a long long time ago. It was chaotic back then. Our lives were changed when an asteroid smashed into the Earth, and everything around was at mercy, nothing could have stopped that. Altered by the 'unknown end' as we called it back then, we were left to our own devices to start anew. Things are different now, I'm at peace, and they're at peace."

These few words changed my life, while they had not known where they were, they knew something had changed. When I left them, my personality had changed completely. Watching them from start to finish was something I hadn't seen before, and I couldn't wait to tell the others. But for now, you will do. Yes you, the one that's reading these pages. My mind isn't perfect, and to help with that I written everything I knew to the pages that your eyes gaze upon. There was only one problem about what they had said to me... I could have stopped it, but if I did then I would be a monster of myself for changing the norm once again. I hope I had written everything from what I saw, and with that, these are the things I saw.

From start, to finish.

* * *

A lonesome night it was, on the harshest of winters. The landscape was desolate with nothing but the thick white ground and the icy clear rivers. Not a single creature could walk in these harsh conditions, almost none. Animals known only to man as the Dinosaurs were the only ones who dared to travel across the landscape instead of staying by to hibernate. Dinosaurs of all sizes were able to do so if they wished, however this winter had been the harshest, and had started more than four months prior. Blizzards were common around here, with the snow packing up to at least ten feet high. This was known by the indigenous as the Eyanosa Gola, meaning 'Big Winter'. This was a winter that no one could bare to walk through, yet it did not stop two middle aged dinosaurs to do so.

The first of the two was also the tallest, with his skin being a medium-dark green and walking on four, broad sturdy legs. His tail wasn't as pointy as his partner's, and he bore a more angled face with deep brown eyes. His partner on the other hand was much more bright, being a bright greenish yellow. Her body had spots that were more defined, walked on thinner legs and had a smoother, natural face with electric green eyes. Even though the blasting wind where shooting projectiles of snow at them, they were still determined to find a place to stay, a place to shelter them from the winter wind.

For days they would find a candidate, but was already occupied, and had no choice but to find a home somewhere on the river - a much harsher place to be as most rivers had steep hills surrounding them. Through the river they walked on the ice, being too big to slip on it. The hills around provided some visibility from the blizzard, but only to the point of seeing the hills on either side of the river, that is until something caught their attention. The hills were getting higher and steeper, and the trunks of trees were no longer seen on the sides due to said steepness. It was certain that something was different here, but it wasn't known at the time what it was.

The wind started to wither out as they got deeper into this v-shaped valley, the river being too thin to walk upon. Twists and turns filled the valley as it got ever thinner, to the point where it seemed like it would be impassible... but it didn't, instead it opened out fully. A sudden silence of things signaled that the wind had died down completely. In front of them was a wide open valley, the nearest hill being miles away. The grass had snow on it, but only a feet deep. This was the perfect spot to set up a permanent home base, sheltered from the elements and provided with fertile grass for spring.

Settling down, they gathered the nearest supplies to create a basic, wooden house; just big enough for the two to sleep in. For now it wasn't time to rest, now was time to start anew. Using all their willpower, they cleared out the trees and snow for a small patch of land in front of the newly built homestead. And with that came the birth of a new future, one not of cold and desolate, but one of warmth and safety... one of peace.

"You did it Henry."

"No Ida, _we_ did it."

* * *

Events on Earth could not be more alive than ever, contrasted with the cold outside space, where things were in perfect order. The Sun blazing as always, Mercury baked as always, Venus toxic as always, and the rest of the planets being as they had already been for billions of years. Nothing had changed, even the asteroids of the inner and outer system had been inactive. But there's more to space than just the solar system, a vast universe that's alive not in millions but in billions of years, and with it, a large asteroid 100 miles wide hurtling through space. It had came from somewhere unknown, but that was not the important of matters, what was important was where it was going; towards to solar system.

These things, in the time space of the universe happen commonly, but from the eyes of Earth and the creatures upon it wasn't heard of. Every time one did come through, it would always be the same fate, kicked out again or swallowed by the gas giants. But this time was different, the universe had finally aimed right to cause a stir, and was set in motion to unleash full havoc wherever the asteroid went. This time the universe could see drama unfold as there was now only one destiny for this chosen one.

Earth.

* * *

 **Hello everyone! Surprised? Well... Surprise! Another story for this series, not linked to any of the others at all ;). This one I've been planning all the way back since Henry's Long Adventure, but had only started actual research around it when Peter's Machine Between Worlds came out. In my personal opinion PMBW lacked something that I wanted to put into a lot of these stories: emotion. There wasn't enough emotion put into the story, and for that I wanted to make it up by making this one stand out.**

 **Some of the plot points leading to the Meteor's arrival are going to be from some of the deleted scenes/original plot of The Good Dinosaur. In fact you just saw one, there was an image in the story board of the original involving two dinosaurs travelling through snow, carrying resources. I made this out as Henry and Ida finding a place to set up both a home and a family, so chapters 1 and 2 are going to be just that. And from that I can say that the plot leading up to the Meteor is going to be really slow. So there's that! Anyways I hope you enjoyed the start of this new story, be on the look out for more chapters to come!**

 **Next chapter: Baby Steps**


	2. Page 02 - Baby Steps

Life around the mountains was most sublime, there were no creatures to disturb and calmer weather meant crop yields would be bigger than ever. They had not been there for a week and were already moving boulders and trees around to setup their first big farm. Taught by their own parents before, they used a variety of techniques to build a tool used to distribute seeds across the field. Some slip ups occurred during the removal of the wooden homestead and the construction of a larger, stone-built homestead, the time alone just to keep the stones in place gave much hassle. It was soon appreciated that carving the stone over time would provide a stronger build for the homestead, which it did.

Two months had past since they first arrived and their new home was complete! Now they wouldn't have to make their home whenever it was too windy, which they learned the hard way with a prototype half way in construction. So they had a home, a small field with plans of a bigger one, and a river nearby acting as both drinking water as well as for watering the crops. All they needed now was some place to store the crops in time for winter, which usually blows in the opposite direction of what happened last time. Things would be different next time and they would feel the full force of it. So they got to it.

"Pass me the wood won't you?" Henry asked in a light but rather orderly fashion. But that was usual of him and Ida didn't really bother if he was a little stern sometimes, if anything she was more so than he was. So in response she did, though only just barely managed to pass it over before collapsing, the wood rolling toward Henry. Concerned, he whisked the log off the ground as if it was a child's stick, before slamming it into the ground- a booming sound generated from the action. Moving toward Ida, he helped get her back onto her feet. "Look, if it's too much, I'll easily do it for you." He calmly spoke, smiling gently whilst fixated at her eyes. She did the same and smiled, before heading toward the small field to manage the crops.

Over time they assigned each other and themselves to certain tasks, building and clearing out more and more over the next year. No matter what happened though, the pair always had something to laugh or enjoy about at the end of the day. There was this one hot day in the summer where Henry was tired from the heat, and accidentally Ida sprayed ice cold water at him instead of the crops, which devolved to a water fight between the couple. It was all fun and games tied in with serious teamwork and experience, to create a masterpiece of a home. Their home was now littered in comfy hay, and the field was fully complete. They even had a pen of chickens, which took all day to get them inside.

But alas, they knew this place wouldn't live up forever when they were no longer here, eventually they would be too old to manage such a place efficiently enough to keep it alive. And they knew this from the start, but grew more concerning as they added more effort into the place over time. And there wasn't much new to do anyways apart from explore elsewhere, which was a problem as this was an area that other animals could raid in after all. There was only one thing they hadn't thought of until now; create a true, perfect family.

* * *

The end of spring on the second year, the air was warming up, and the sun cast its golden rays onto the ground. Snow had melted a month prior, and was only on the mountains they now called "Clawtooth Mountain", for obvious reasons. The sky was littered with light feathery clouds that moved as slow as moss, however that didn't stop the river from churning as usual. In fact the river was raging enough to be heard a mile off, not common but known more than when it's calm. With usual chores, Henry ambled over to the rapid river and bent down, opening his gaping mouth and taking in a massive heap of water.

Without swallowing it, he carried it over toward the crops, before opening his mouth just enough for the water to fan out across the entire field without turning his head more than 30 degrees. By the time he was done, the plants were well-watered, shining against the sun. Looking once more at the crops, he smiled in appreciation for what they had created, the sound of the water had unintentionally created a calm mood, and it felt like things could be the same fore-

"Henry, it's time!" Ida called out excitingly from the homestead, with that Henry too flared up with excitement. Rushing over, they both looked toward the eggs that were in front of them, being well lit by both the entrance and some skylights up top, a golden aura emanated from their surroundings. The hay was all lit up, and above all else, they were ready for whatever the future had in store for them. There were three eggs in front, the first two were usual in size, and had already started showing signs of opening up. Only things to concern them was the third one, which was almost twice the size as the other two, whoever was inside this one was going to be special.

Calm faded, another kick from the first egg, this time much more powerful and created a rather big crack along the top. Growing in size as more kicks came forth, the top soon popped open like a lid of a fresh jar, albeit without the same POP sound. The newborn who looked up smiled and laughed as she saw her parents. Henry and Ida looked at each other, expressing their new parenthood, looking back the newborn had already left the scene. Almost gobsmacked, they were soon relieved when the newborn had somehow managed to climb on Ida's back, sliding down her neck and almost hit the ground - stopped when Ida caught her by the tail.

As she laughed in excitement, Ida teasingly said "You little sneak, stay here Libby." No sooner had she announced Libby's name, Henry calmly repeated the name, before another crack was heard. This time all three of them snapped back to the main attraction. It wasn't long before this egg hatched, and out came a more robust looking youngster. Unlike Libby who had the bright skin of her mother and brown eyes of her father, this one had the dark skin of his father and green eyes of his mother. Almost out of instinct, he had caught sight of the nearest rather large stick, more like a club, and started hitting his fathers ankle with it. Henry was amused by this sight and responded "Now slow down there Buck, you're gonna give your poppa a bruise." knowing that it wouldn't actually cause a bruise, but said so to make Buck stop, which he did.

While they were having fun with the two kids, the third and final egg had moved, ceasing all the noise from all of them. Anticipated by whoever could be in the egg, Buck didn't have the patience to wait and started using the club. "Get outta there you little rascal." Henry remarked, moving Buck away from the egg before he could open it up fully. "All right this is gonna be a big one." Henry added, but as soon as he said that, the top fully cracked and moved up a bit. Slowly, a small head rose from the egg and looked toward the family. There was only one problem, if this one was as small as the others, how was it able to peak its head out of the egg? Encouraging it to climb out, there was something underneath this one that moved, and made this newborn fall onto the ground. With the third out, they peaked a little closer, and their question had been answered...

A fourth egg was inside the third one, the two were flabbergasted by this; the others only confused. This was something new and truly unique, not ever has one seen such a thing. Before they could say anything of the slightest, the final egg had cracked slightly. Staring at the sight, they watched as the side of the egg cracked open. From it, a small newborn inside, looked up to the two and unlike the other three coward to the back of the egg. Henry laughed slowly as he grabbed the egg and tilted it so that they could see the newborn once more. "A bit nervous isn't he?" Ida remarked, "It's okay little one, come on out." Henry encouraged, sure enough the newborn got to some bearings with the new environment and soon calmed down, walking slowly and fluidly, as if he would fall at any moment. No sooner did he get out of the egg, he couldn't stop himself from naturally falling head first. The calm quickly faded as Buck went over and started hitting the young fella with the same small club.

"BUCK!" Henry snapped, Buck quickly knew at that point to back off, and with that the four walked swiftly past their parents out the entrance. Stopping to embrace the sight outside, the fourth couldn't stop and fell over, still getting used to walking. "Slow learner, huh?" Ida whispered amusingly. "Ah don't worry, he'll get there. Just needs the motivation." Henry replied, noticing that they were all looking behind to the mountains. "That's Clawtooth Mountain, and this is our farm." "And we're all going to take care of it, together." All four of the kids were now running, chasing each other happily. At some point the parents had to stop them from leaving their sight, but laughed it off. It was they had realised they had not named the last two of their offspring. Moving toward the third, they had no idea what to name her. She wasn't as electric as Libby, and she wasn't strong like Buck was - but she also wasn't as nervous as their fourth newborn. It was a difficult decision to make.

Meanwhile, the fourth had managed to step away from his parents' sight, and had mindlessly wandered to the back of the homestead. At this time, the fencing around the farm was small of an area, a bit too small, allowing any unwanted creature to come close with almost no detection; especially when kids have to be looked after. Speaking of unwanted creatures, the bushes around the fence line had started to shudder. Instead of moving away, the fourth one decided that things were safe around the farm, and proceeded to walk toward the bushes. The rustling of the bushes only got ever more intensive as he walked closer to them. It was then that the rustling stopped, cut short by reptilian jaws slicing through the bushes, and extended far enough to grab the fourth before going back through. As the creature was racing away ready to eat the young, it stopped when a large booming sound from in front bellowed.

"Stay away from my child, you beast!" Henry roared out loud, the reptilian letting go in the process. That was the last thing it could do before Henry's tail smacked it as far as the I can see. Reaching down below, he soon saw the state the young one was in, bunched up into a ball-almost. "Hey there, it's okay. As long as you stay by us, we'll protect you, okay?" Henry calmly spoke, the young one poked its head and and stood up, before climbing up to the top of his head. "Now let's get you home." Walking back to the farm, it was apparent that his shouting wasn't unnoticed, "What was all that about?" Ida glared at Henry, "Look, he's okay and that's all that matters. Besides, I really see something in him.", "At least we have a name for Verena over here. You got a name for him?" Henry chuffed, thinking of a good name to give this special one of his. Of all names he could think of, only one stood out.

"Yes, I do. Come here... Arlo."

* * *

As things were quietening on Earth, the asteroid remained determined on its course, the solar system does however have a multiple defenses, especially from an alien asteroid. A trillion barren comets, some as large or larger than the asteroid in question, are the first line of defense. Only problem is despite the fact that there are a trillion of them, span across the largest space around the solar system, meaning that no two of these comets naturally get closer than 50,000 miles from each other. Marking the first weakness, the 100 mile-wide asteroid had started to cross this defense.

 _Time: 11 Years, 2 Months, 0 Days, 1 Hour and 5 Seconds until impact._

* * *

 **Here it is, second chapter. Turns out the plot might be a bit more paced than I initially put it at, which means the meteor might come in at around chapter 10 instead of more along the lines of chapter 50. The near end of this chapter was inspired by a very conspicuous deleted scene for The Good Dinosaur, which can only be seen on the Digital HD version (I don't have it unfortunately so I had to go off by memory, tried looking for the video of it but it was deleted and I thought I made it up, but no, there's a bunch of articles describing the deleted scene titled "The Attack"). For me personally this deleted scene gives me evidence of how Arlo's fear isn't because he's naturally weak, but because of something that happened shortly after birth, watch the film again and see how many times Arlo gets frightened of something in the bushes, or his interpretation of the flash flood.**

 **Wow, long paragraph there, I seem to be doing those a lot. Is it okay if I do it in large chapters or is it preferred to be in smaller chunks? Anyways I hope you enjoyed the chapter, there's plenty more to come!**

 **Notable Facts: Verena means 'Defender' for a reason, Arlo means 'brave' for a reason too.**

 **Next chapter: Fun and Chores**


	3. Page 03 - Fun and Chores

Throughout the many weeks and months, Henry and Ida worked hard to both manage their new kids, whilst also keeping the farm managed. It couldn't last too long, the kids were starting to get older, and teaching them how to manage the farm together was the only essential way to keep succeeding. As the next year rolled by they taught them how to do certain basics, but not much that actually contributed to the homestead and farm. Winter rolled around and for most of that time there was little that actually happened. By the time spring came around, most of the family had lost their enthusiasm. Change was in desperate need, and the only way to do that was to get them to work.

It was on the 100th day since winter ended that Henry went over to Buck, who looked hungry for something to do. "You okay there Buck? You seem a bit...", "Bored? Guess you could tell a mile off, you don't have anything for me to do around here, do you?" He asked, _he must've be really bored to ask straight away_ Henry thought, it was much easier to get Buck in gear than he anticipated. "Hmm, there is one thing I guess you can do today. You see those trees there?" Turning his head to a few trees just to the side of the homestead, he continued. "I was planning on removing them today, but... you think you can handle it?"

As soon as he mentioned something that meant the possibility of doing an activity, Buck lit up with excitement "Don't worry papa, I can do it before you even know it!" He said, determination and excitement both mixed and emphasized into his voice, before running over to them. Meanwhile Ida was planning something with Libby, but couldn't see where she had gone to. All over Ida searched, until just in front of the large field, she was there doing something to the ground. Upon closer inspection, it looks as if she was trying to plow the field, using any of her feet, and sometimes her tail, but none of it worked. Looking up, Libby shrieked, surprised that Ida was right in front of her.(edited)

Both of them looked at each other for only a second before bursting out laughing. "You really are quite the jumper aren't you Libby?" Still laughing, though more subtle, Libby replied "Yeah, not as much as Arlo, but yeah..." She sounded more cheery than Buck had, probably because unlike him she was actually doing something "Just uh, a little stuck on how to plow, can't get the lines straight." Ida already what she was doing wrong, and so gave here mere advice. "Just use your head, that's what Henry does." As Ida walked away, Libby was left confused, "Does she mean think about where exactly to plow or- wait a second!" jumping into action, she immediately stretched her neck so that her nose was going into the dirt before walking forward. Henry took notice of what Libby was up to and moved over to Ida, "So what you you tell her.", "Not much, just to use her head as you do. They're learning so fast... But what about them?" Ida said, referring to Arlo and Verena.

Verena watched as Arlo tried his best to stack some corn from the plants that had died during the winter, which weren't as soon became apparent that everytime the corn pile fell, Arlo would jump for some reason. As she watched Ida move towards him, it was obvious that he became nervous. There was a nearby chicken pen that the two were walking to, as Ida left Arlo she soon realised that Arlo was given the job of feeding the chickens. However as she studdied everything that happened, it was getting obvious that Arlo was afraid of-

"Whatcha doing there?" A familiar deep voice uttered from her right. It was so smooth yet so sudden that she jumped out of her skin in fright, however upon further inspection she looked up to see Henry towering over her, smiling. "Oh, it's just you. For a moment I thought it was Buck doing his thing again. Anyways, have you noticed?","Yeah I've noticed, poor guy. Be lucky you have someone like him Verena. Arlo might be a bit timid now, but I believe in him, and he believes in me. If it wasn't for my actions he wouldn't even be here, and now me and him are bonded. I have a job for you, one of the most important jobs in the farm, if not _the_ most important job in the farm."

What possible role could be that important? Verena thought, leading her to ask Henry what he expected, she should have guessed he'd interrupted her before she could finish. "Your role, Verena, is to take care of him." "Take care, of him? But he's-" "He's just scared of the world. A creature tried to attack him shortly after his birth, probably scared for life after that. In that case, I need you to guide him to so that he can no longer fear those things. He won't survive out there, but with you I'm sure he'll find a way. Give it time, and he'll be greater than you or me. _Trust me!_ "

Although doubtful about his words, Verena knew that he was right in some way that she did not know at this stage in life. Looking back, she saw Arlo run out from the pen, racing in their direction. "Now now Arlo take a deep breath, what happened?", "Papa, Joey is the worst in the coup!" Verena felt slightly left out in the conversation, but in some ways that was a good thing, it gave her the opportunity to see how their conversation went and could use that when bonding with Arlo. "So, Verena, why don't you help Arlo here for today huh?" Jumping back to reality, she knew there was a piece of talk that she missed, so she immediately replied with "Okay yeah sure!" Without realizing it until they got to the pen.

For the rest of the day, things didn't go too badly. Buck finished only half of the trees, but for his age that was really something- the fact that he could even chop down one tree at this time was surprising yet alone half a dozen. Autumn came around quickly and fairly on time, and with six members gathering the corn it had been completely emptied in less than a day. Winter followed, with the family much more happy. For the days where the entire area was covered in deep snow, they would gather some up and throw at each other, albeit difficult. Arlo and Verena teamed against Buck and Libby; the one time when they'd get along. Almost all the time the latter team would win. It was only when Henry gave a new strategy for beating them that things got interesting, instead of using their necks and mouths to throw it, they used their tails.

Winter had passed, and things had once again started to repeat. Libby was given the job to water the crops, though that was extremely difficult to do. A new idea had come around about how to execute this. As Buck walked past the corn field, Libby stalked him from inside the field, ready to strike at the right moment. He was now walking right in front of her, and so she sprayed a mouthfull of water, with a direct hit! "Agh, Libby!" By the tone of his voice she knew she'd annoyed him, and it was obvious what was going to happen. However she was much faster than his aim, and could tease him by popping out of the field every now and then. Like a guide she directed where he sprayed across the fields, and with that her job was done. Walking out, Buck still had some water to spray her with, though barely any.

"Hey mom, I'm done watering!" She chirped, their mother turning towards them "Good job Libby!" She said happily, before turning to Buck, changing emotion almost instantly as if there was a fight. "Buck, get back to work.", "What!?" Buck shrieked, Libby started turning and, with a smug-ish face, spoke "Thanks Buck!" Rather annoyed, he swore to himself that he would one day get her, even if it meant using others in the process.

* * *

 **Yeah sorry for not uploading this yesterday, had to watch the Perseid Meteor Shower which was spectacular. Has put me back a bit so next chapter will be up tomorrow and that other chapter for PMBW will be done on Tuesday (a bit of work for me wow). Anyways, nothing too much to say about this chapter. I hope to see you guys in the next chapter!**

 **Notable Facts: None what-so-ever.**

 **Next chapter: Building Bonds**


	4. Page 04 - Building Bonds

Days rolled by. Sleep, eat, chores, sleep and repeat. It was always like that, and it seemed that's all it would ever be. Not once did they question the outside world, home was all they needed, that's what it seemed like. As they turned 3 years old, they were starting to ask more questions. However they soon realised that answers were limited in a world like this. Many questions arose, but only a select few could be answered to an acceptable degree. It came to the point where Henry and Ida were questioning each other how long they could keep their children, as the farm couldn't be their home for all their lives.

Those questions didn't come around every day though, as the days that weren't questioned were those to have fun on. Buck and Libby, they did their thing with each other, getting older they would argue more. At first it was silly things, but that would change. Apart from the arguing they would try to prove each other better than the other by pulling of pranks. As always they would start small, but they grew and grew. It had come to the point where they couldn't directly achieve it, and would need bait. And you could probably guess who they used. Arlo. They would use him for their pranks, and he would be none-the-wiser, thinking that they were going after him. But things like that wouldn't last, Verena quickly learned from observing what they were doing, she and Arlo had a thing where they would switch, and they did. They looked almost identical, apart from the slight difference in skin color and height, but it was close enough to fool them. Verena would sometimes break their plans before they started, and sometimes she would play along, pretending to be Arlo. Arlo was safe from their ideas, that's all that mattered to Verena.

Eventually, they stopped tricking each other, they couldn't find new ideas. So they went back to arguing. Henry and Ida witnessed it all, however they didn't intervene for a reason. It gave Verena an opportunity to have experience protecting him: Arlo. They were clever, and their children wouldn't know their intentions until later in their life, when it would seem too late. But getting back on track, the old silo was no more, they needed a new one. Arlo was also needing something, Henry could tell a mile off that Arlo felt, disconnected.

"Hey son, how 'ya doing?" Henry spoke, Arlo looking up slowly. At that point in time the world around them slowed to a crawl, as if time had stopped. "I'm fine pa, really." Henry shook his head, "No... no you're not fine. You have that... look, on your face. It's one I'm familiar with, it that look you give to someone to make them go away, but deep down inside you need them. Am I right?" As he said those words, Arlo knew more and more that he couldn't hide his loneliness, and it was showing. "You're lonely, aren't you? Buck is teasing you, Libby doing the same, your mama doing chores. But what about me and your other sis'? Come on son, lets do some family stuff for once, what do 'ya say?"

It took a long time before Arlo could speak, he knew that if he'd say no, he'd be letting not only his father down, but himself too. But doing something for a change was kind of scary for him, I could tell, and so could Henry. "Okay then, what is it papa?" Henry smiled, "We're gonna need to find the right spot okay? Lets go." Arlo caught up with Henry as he walked slowly, around the area they went, the ground seemed too dry or too wet or too uneven anywhere they went. There was however one spot, by the river and next to a lone tree. It was perfect.

"This seems like a good spot." Henry said, mostly to himself, before lowing his head down to Arlo's height. "Arlo, you're gonna help me build a silo." He announced, just loud enough for both of them to hear. As Henry walked away Arlo followed, to a pile of logs that were cut down previously. Turning his head to the left and right, Henry's neck clicked, before he lowered himself to grasp hold of not one, but two large logs. Arlo saw a rather large twig that he thought he could lift on his own.

He tried pulling once, nothing happened, pulling for a second time did nothing either. But with all his might on the third try, he eventually managed to lift it, and it seemed lighter once he got hold of it. As he walked back to the ideal spot, he and the log was pulled up by Henry, who had actually been holding the log the entire time. Arlo laughed and so did Henry, before Arlo lost his grip. "Stand back Arlo." As he stepped back, Henry got a firm hold of the log, before slamming it vertically into the ground. Arlo could of sworn the ground around moved.

"Papa, will I be like you some day?" As Arlo questioned the future so innocently, Henry froze. He turned back to Arlo with a smile. "You'll be me, and more." He said proudly, Arlo lit up, before he and Henry went back to get more wood. Once they had done with the wood, the next part were the stones, Arlo could only just carry one at a time, while Henry could easily hold six. Piece by piece they built the shell. When Arlo was tired, they would rest, and sometimes pull pranks on others. There was one point where they saw Buck and Libby arguing across the field. "Wanna see how far I can throw Arlo?" Arlo nodded twice, with that Henry got old of a pebble with his teeth, before throwing it in the direction of the two. The pebble hit Buck, and that triggered them enough to start fighting. Meanwhile Henry and Arlo watched, trying to hold in the laughter.

Another time, they were behind some bushes, peaking through to see some ripe purple berries that were layed out. Ida was setting them up, however Henry and Arlo could resist and grabbed hold of about a dozen or so. They layed back while eating them, before being suddenly interrupted when Ida came through the bushes, catching them... red handed? hmm, I'll get back to you on that phrase, anyways... "Did you guys steal some berries?" She conveyed in a cold manner. Both Henry and Arlo shook their heads, their mouths full and surrounded by purple berry juice.

"Three can play at that game!" She said, much more lighter. Grabbing a bunch of berries, she ate them, before shooting some purple berry juice at both of them, their faces now covered. It was awkward for a split second, before all of them had burst out in laughter. In this story, I could say that this was one of the times that Arlo felt whole, truly himself, a golden age if you could say. However, a golden age could not last forever. In this case, things started to fall, albeit barely noticeable.

* * *

Out in the cold, dark emptiness of space, the asteroid rolled by. Now the big challenges were coming. Saturn; one of the largest planets in the solar system, was one of the great defenders of Earth from such a threat. Equipped with a large ring system and tens of moons to take the blow, Saturn's defense is matched only by Jupiter and the Sun. The asteroid came streaming by, the problem however, is that the rings are too thin, and the moons are only rarely in the right place, at the right time. Now, only a few things stood, between Life, and death.

* * *

 **It's getting close, but we still have a few years to go right? We'll see what Jupiter has in store for next chapter! I really don't have much to say. Things might get busy for me, for some reason I'm preparing for that Eclipse in America even though I'm in the UK. What is wrong with me? Ha, anyways, you might have noticed two things. The first, the structure of the chapters are now in thick paragraphs, rarely any one liners. This is intentional, and I can say that the structure will evolve. The second, there's a "first person" perspective in this, as well a third. I can not say why that's included, you'll have to find out at the end of this story, or maybe some other story ;)**

 **Hope you guys stay around for the next chapter. I'm glad this one's starting to get a bit of attention. I've noticed that with each story I make there is less views for them, I'm gonna try to change that here by making as many chapters for this story as possible.**

 **Notable Facts: The deleted scene "Building The Silo" is included in this chapter, That makes 2 of the 3 main deleted scenes. The third one however will not be included, for reasons I have yet to show.**

 **Next chapter: Drama Ways**


	5. Page 05 - Drama Ways

Over the span of years to come by, the 4 siblings grew up alongside one another. Winter came every now-and-then, with a sheet of white covering the landscape, before being torn apart by the might of the spring and summer seasons, before repeating many times. By now, Arlo and brother and his sisters were all 6 years of age, they were over three times their size before, and had matured very much so since. Well, _most of them_ had done so. Of all 4 of them, Arlo was still in fear of anything that looked like it would pounce on him at any moment. Though he may have forgotten the time just after his birth where he was nearly taken away, the subconscious mind knew it enough to embed the fear in him.

There was one, interesting day, that stood from the rest.

Dawn surrounded the homestead, where the sun had started to transform the clouds to a pinkish-red colour, and the smallest of objects created shadows that casted long, slender bodies. Only two things in particular made a sound at this time, the natural sounds, like the birds singing and the wind whispering... and the other being the loud thumping sounds, emanating from the footsteps Henry made. By the time everyone else had woken from their usual slumber, the sun had already peaked out from the clouds that layed low on the horizon. Arlo, Buck, Libby and Verena were all still in a state of being half-asleep, with Ida and Henry being the ones fully roused. As the time got to the equivelent of 11:00 am, everyone had gathered around the silo.

"Put your mark on it, Henry. You earned it." Ida said gracefully, Hnery let out a small smirk, before the siblings cheered on. "Yeah, Poppa do it!" "Come on!" "Yeah!" "Go on!"

"Only if your momma does it first. If anyone's earned a mark around here it's her." Henry said cheerly, moving out of the way to allow Ida to place her foot in the mud adjacent to the silo before lifting it up midway, placing it on one of the larger stones of the silo. Releasing it revealed a very clear footprint, the siblings looked at it in awe as Henry did the same creating a larger, comparably-shaped footprint. Ida ovserved the heights of the footprints, and immediatly noticed that one was higher than the other.

"D-Did you just place yours higher than mine?" Ida imparted, Henry merely glanced at it before riposting with "What? Nah, 'tis just the angle you're looking at it." in a light, mocking tone.

"The 'angle', huh?" Ida rhetorically asked, moving sideways so that she'd lightly bounce off of Henry's side. As they looked at each other for a split second, the siblings couldn't help but start to do the same, each placing their feet in the mud. Quickly Henry noticed them and stalled their effort "Now hold on there. It's not as simple as that. You gotta _earn_ your mark- by doing something big. Something... bigger than yourself. One day, you'll all make your marks... and I just can't wait to see it." He expressed, intentionally eyeing towards Arlo at the last part.

* * *

The years went by once more. From that day forward, all the siblings were set, on their own race, to get their mark on the silo; to prove of their strengths. Autumn went to Winter- to sping, then summer; and then autumn again. Only a year had passed before Buck managed to earn his mark: Clearing out an entire field of trees set for a new field of corn. On the day he earned it, Libby and Verena stood poudly to see him place his mark on the silo. Arlo however, had come out of nowhere running from the chickens. Henry and Ida looked at each other, while Verena and Libby merely glanced for a moment; at the time, it didn't seem like a problem. _'He'll learn'_ they all thought.

A few more years had gone by, the once young siblings had all turned 9 at this time. Libby soon got her mark too: Using the cleared field to plow about 20 lines. Placing her mark, Verena stood before and started to worry, which strengthened when Arlo once again ran from the chickens- this time accidentally running into Buck and knocking him over. As Buck let out a groan and a complaint of annoyance, she could hear Henry and Ida next to her talk about Arlo. "He'll figure it out." Henry said nervously.

At this point, Verena knew that eventually she'd get a mark; and Arlo would be the last. Having known Arlo more than most in the homstead area, she knew how Arlo'd react if he knew he was the last to place his mark; it would be a statement that he would be the runt of them all, and knowing how Buck and Libyb like to tease, they'd be all over him on it. Worrying just a little too much about it, Verena decided to _intentionally_ not get her mark, if it meant sacrificing her reputation, it would be worth it.

More and more years rolled by, an unusual side-effect of Verena being 'weak' took place. She learnt from Arlo how not to get a mark, and with that she acted more like him. From this, everyone else had a harder time knowing who was who. There were times Verena went to feed the chickens instead of Arlo, which no doubt was confusing. While it was tempting to get Arlo his mark by pretending to be him, she knew that would be the most un-loyal thing to do. The 'golden age' had long passed. Buck had grown more and more annoyed of Arlo, and the relationship between them was slowly being eroded away. Verena was always there to help Arlo, pretending to be someone else had quirks when the bully doesn't know who's who.

* * *

In the vast, frozen depths of space, the asteroid that had once bene so massive had now been reduced. Ever since it passed, and nearly got destroyed by Jupiter, the now-60 mile wide asteroid had been dormantly drifting towards the asteroid belt, where many asteroids orbited the firery ball that is the Sun. Now normally, asteroids are so far apart that collisions are at times more rare than a solar eclipse. In this occasion, the results were not in the favour of the asteroid. A titanic collision between the two asteroids, and a new threat occured. As a result of the collision, a cloud of miniscule asteroids surrounded the largest of the asteroids; about 9miles wide, this was the final form of an asteroid with only one destination: Earth. And now with an armada of smaller, but still deadly asteroids, this was something the life on Earth was not prepared for.

And on this day; Arlo, Buck, Libby and Verena had just turned 11, sitting out their usual lives oblivious to the unstoppable power.

* * *

 **A/N: Okay yes, this is a rather short chapter on my end, however I've come to realise that you don't need a "minimum word count" for every chapter. While it's not okay to have chapters less than 10 words (how would a proper chapter work like that anyways?) it's okay to have something like this. It's taken me so long to come to this conclusion, but now that I know, chapters are gonna be a bit more varied. The "minimum" however has been lowered massively to 500 words, I know I just contradicted myself but it's more of a way to motivate me than as a mandatory bar.  
**

 **I feel more relaxed with this, and I can now do chapters normally, I think I've wanted it to be this way for a long while but never realised it. Anyways, the main event is probably gonna be in a couple of chapters, rather than 5 chapters away. There's still a problem in which I somehow make a story less than 20 chapters long. I feel like I could do with a longer story, and with that I've also realised that not every story has to tie in with the plot as much as every other chapter. While this won't be in effect for quite some time, I'll be implementing it later on.**

 **I hope you've all enjoyed, and I'll see you all next chapter!**

 **Next chapter: Switcheroo**

 **Fun Facts: The asteroid that kileld the dinosaurs IRL is theorised to be 9 miles wide, rather than 6 miles wide. This measurement was made thanks to a team of researchers who drilled down into the rocks at the very site of the crater. Other stuff has been theorised about it, which I'll talk about in later chapters.**


	6. Page 06 - Switcheroo Shenanigans

Daybreak with no clouds in the sky was a rare, but beautiful sight. Draping over the land as the sky mimicked a rainbow, without the green. If one were to pan their head from the day to the night, the spectaular gradient of yellow to orange to red to blue to purple, would be just about as close to the definition of perfect as one could ever get. For the Apatosaurs however, it was a usual autumn sunrise. Like clockwork, Henry was the first to wake and survey the territory they had for any devious acts that could of taken place in the night. Excluding the few stems of corn in the field that had been stripped, nothing was out of place. Seemed as though any critters that did come round either knew not to take too much, or just wanted something small.

Either way, Henry was pleased to some extent, as it meant that the silo he built previously had indeed worked. Gazing upon the mountains that seemed to loom over, the only clouds that were drifting by gave the illusion that the mountains were goign to fall. But it didn't matter to him, he understood the concept that no force on Earth could possibly move, deform or destroy a mountain as grand as the Clawtooth Mountains. Nonetheless, they stood tall and mighty, as if they were guarding the entire landscape that layed in front.

By mid-morning, everyone had already woken up, and were well off into their chores. Henry however had been observing verena for quite sometime, and had started to believe that she was up to something. One thing convinced him more than anything else; she had been starting to mimic Arlo's voice for the past couple of days. Knowing that she couldn't go on like this, Henry walked up to her while she was not looking.

"Verena, I need a word with you." He instructed, howbeit Verena wouldn't follow. "Look, I know something's up. I'm always here if you need to talk about anything..."

"I'm fine Henry, don't worry about me." Verena mumbled. Henry however would have none of it.

"You're not fine. You've been acting rather off for... well about a couple of years now. You seem to be even more so just recently. Is it the whole-"

"Mark thing? Yes it is Henry." Verena said displeasingly.

"How so? It's not that challenging you know." Henry tried his best to ease the tension tha had grown, but instead only made it worse.

"Oh really? Why don't you tell Arlo that and see what he says then." Verena snapped, before storming off. Henry was left there bewildered by what had happened.

While Verena was walking, she'd look over to the chicken pen to see how Arlo was doing, and quickly found out that Buck had just scared him away. As everyone else looked onto the scene, Verena noticed that Buck had suddenly moved so that it seemed like he wasn't part of it. Being the one responsible for Arlo, this enraged Verena more than ever. There was just one thing however that stopped her from calling Buck out for his schemes; an idea. In idea of tricking Buck so that he'd never mess with Arlo again.

* * *

During the afternoon of the very next day. Arlo instinctively wandered over to Ida, who was ready to give him the corn needed to feed the chickens once more.

"Psst." A sound to Arlo's right side emitted from the bushes. One part of him was frightened enough to hide behind the field of corn, the other half was curious as to what exactly made the sound and of course, curiosity got the better of him. Turning over to the bushes, he heard another "Psst." albeit louder. Walking closer and closer, he had suddenly been grasped and pulled through the bushes. Trying to let out a scream of help, his mouth was covered by a... tail? And a familiar one too.

"Hey-hey-hey-hold on now Arlo calm down." Verena quickly whispered. "It's okay, it's just me, breath in... breath out... there." She let go of his mouth. "What are you doing Verena!? You have to stop scaring me like that." Arlo screached, soon realising he was at the back of the homestead.

"I know I know, this time's different. There's something I wanted to talk to you about, it's about Buck..."

"Him huh? Don't worry about it. He's rough at times but I know that one day I can pull through it." Arlo exclaimed. Funny thing about him was that he would always see the good side of things until the moment they went bad. "No, it's not as simple as that. As long as you keep running away he'll see you as an easy target. What you need to do is to give 'im what he deserves."

"You mean you want me to scare him? You know me enough to know that's not possib-"

"Then I'll do it for you." Verena interrupted, taking Arlo aback. "You _don't_ have to do that for me. Besides, he's never gonna believe you're me."

Verena smiled evily, before mimicking Arlo's voice. "You sure about that? Surprised huh? Learned how to do it over the years." She paused, "Now. Here's how things are going to go. First, I will go out to Ida and-"

"And what?" Henry asked, peaking out from the corner. "Henry. How long have you been there for?"

"Long enough to know that you're planning on doing something to Buck. And why would that be?"

"Listen, Buck's been messing around with Arlos job of feeding the chickens. He keeps scaring him to the point where he can't take it sometimes. I just wanna help Arlo out by giving Buck what he deserves. That can't happen unless we figure this all out okay?"

It took a short amount of time for Henry to think about it. "Alright then. I'll be in on it then. What do 'ya want me to do?"

* * *

Later on in the day, Verena had walked over to Ida, who had been waiting impatiently. "Now where had you gone off to Arlo?", deciding to start from here, verena replied in Arlos voice "N-nowhere momma.", "All right then. You gonna get your mark today right?" She smiled and, in responce, Verena too smiled before uttering "Yess momma." Before ambling to the pen, making sure to act as confident-less as Arlo would be. She had made it to the pen in no more than 30 seconds, by which she sighed and vocalised "A-alright you c-cluckers! Y-you're ab-bout to get f-fed." Possibly too much, but hopefully it was enough to convince Buck, if he was here.

Glancing to her left, there he was, lying on the ground with seed pellets spewed scross his neck, and an obviously fake chicken on the end of his tail, most likely to scare Arlo half to death if he was convinced enough. Verena played along with it. "B-Buck? What h-happened!?" She shiecked in Arlo's voice, pace-walking over to him in a limp-ish fashion. "I came to help with your chores... and then they attacked!" Buck uttered, of course no one BUT Arlo would believe that sentence. "Y-you're gonna be okay!"

"Tell Momma I love her... I see a light..." he uttered quieter, as if on his last breath. Closing his eyes and rolling over slightly, it was evident he was pretending to be dead. "I-I'll go find help-" She was interuped when Buck made an inaccurate chicken sound, looking behind, she could see the fake chicken rising and coming closer. Pretending to be frighted-to-the-bone, Buck seized the oportunity to start laughing in victory. "Oh my- you should see the look on your face." Laughing even more, Verena knew he had taken the bait fully. "Agh-I-should have known it was you!" Whipping the fake chicken away, she started to push Buck lightly, as if in an attempt to be angry. Buck had so far been amused.

But when Verena _actually_ pushed Buck to the ground, that amusement quickly faded. "Good thing I did know." She said, no longer using Arlo's voice. "Wait, what!? Verena!" Trying to get out from her grasp, she had him pinned down to the ground "I mean come on, those tricks you're doing are getting really old.", "Augh! If it was Arlo then it would've been good enough." She stopped pinning him, allowing him to get up. "While I admit that would be true, that's no good pulling something like that when the other isn't having the fun.", "You're so over protective of him. I'll get him good one da-"

They were both interruped when Arlo ran past them, shouting at the top of his lungs "Run for your lives!" In spite of this, Buck laughed. "Oh I wonder what's gotten into him, no doubt it's another storm or something like that." Verena pretended to look behind Buck, before acting nervous. "Or maybe it's something _WORSE!_ " She screamed for the last word, running in the same direction as Arlo. Buck how now become perplexed, until he too looked around. For some unknown reason, a ferocious Tyrannosaurus Rex had infiltrated the homestead territory and was now charging towards Buck. It was too late to run at this point, as Buck had been grabbed at the tain by the large beast.

"Let me go!" Buck shouted helplessly, squirming around to get himself free. However, instead of eating him up, the Tyrannosaur chuckled in a _very_ familiar way. The mammoth-creature put him back on the ground, before shaking, like a critter would to get as much water off. It was very clear now that this was not infact a stray Tyrannosaur, but rather Henry covered in very detailed, carved pieces of wood. Confused, Buck was greeted by Arlo and Verena who were both laughing as hard as they possibly could.

"What the hell, that was not funny! That was actually terrifying!" Verena and Arlo immediately stopped laughing, before Henry twisted Buck around "So how do you think Arlo feels every time you do it to him 'ey?" Buck had soon realised what the intention of this was: to teach him a lesson as to how to properly make a joke or prank at someone. "We wouldn't have done this if you simply did it every now-and-then. Instead you did it basically every other day. While it may have been funny for some of us, it soon died down after a while. This was our last resort to get some sense into you." Verena said, who had now raised her tone as to intimmidate him.

The whole idea of this was to get him to stop. His next words would either make or break the day. "You know what, screw it. I don't need advice from you lot, I'll get you one day Arlo, wheny you least expect it- if it's the last thing I do." He stormed off, despite Henry's attempts to get him back. He didn't even apologise to Arlo. Ida and Libby had only now come to join in. "What was all that about Henry?"

In a sigh of annoyance, he slowly responded "I'll explain later, lets just get back to our chores. If he does decide to do anything, I'll put an end to it before it starts."

* * *

Buck's pranks may have been a problem, but none of it would matter soon. The Asteroid had already passed Mars, and would soon head towards Earth, the stream of particles that were in front of it however, has already started to hit the Earths atmosphere And while it was unnoticable during the day, the night was the only time anyone could see their first, and last warning, of impending destruction.

* * *

 **A/N: Tensions seem to be reaching the breaking point between the family. Let's just hope that whatever Buck has in store, it doesn't make things any worse. Anyways, I hope you guys have enjoyed this story so far, I'll see you in the next chapter!  
**

 **Next chapter: Kicked Out  
**

 **Fun Facts: None... for now.  
**


	7. Page 07 - Kicked Out

_Early Morning (about 08:00 onwards)...  
_

Like clock-work, everyone continued their daily chores. The day was filled with light puffy clouds hanging from the sky- some low enough to hit the mountains that were so near. Everyone as always did what they did best. Verena to say the least kept an eye on everyone, especially Arlo, who would occasionally get into mishaps, albeit minor. If there was something beyond her control, she was told to immediately tell Ida or Henry. For this day, nothing out of the ordinary happened. The sky shifted tones every now and then, sometimes it was hard to tell if it would rain or not.

 _Late Morning (About 10:00 onwards)...  
_

At this time, the chores would either switch between some or just stay as usual, and on this day everyone did the same chore throughout the day; as it would usually take that long to get it done. The wind was calm-ish at average, though it would vary between calm and blustery. Every half an hour or so, Verena looked in a random direction, towards the clouds, as if she saw something from the corner of her eye, however when she looked there was no sign of anything there. She had started paying attention more to Buck, who she thought had gone into the homestead. As rarely anyone would go in there to do anything it was no doubt unusual that he would go in there more than once.

 _Afternoon (About 13:00 onwards)..._

"Buck, you there?" Verena called out from the front of the homestead, looking inside it appeared as though things had been moved, but as for what exactly she couldn't tell. He was nowhere to be seen inside or around the farm.

"Over here!" He shouted from her right, somehow he had managed to stay hidden from Verena's sight for quite sometime: a worrying thought considering that there was no place in the farm where anyone could actually hide... if he was trying to hide that is. "What are you up to Buck?" Verena asked, more concerned than annoyed as to what he might have, or may have already done, considering of what he had said yesterday.

"Nothing, well something- but it's a surprise!"

"A surprise? Oh Buck please don't tell me you're..."

"Oh the 'prank' right? Nah I stopped thinking about that long before now Verena. You don't have to worry about that." He reassured.

"Okay... So if it's not that, then what is it?" Verena questioned. For some reason Buck looked to the left and right ways before responding, like he didn't want anyone else nearby to hear.

"Just don't tell anyone else okay, but I've been meaning to apologise to Poppa and Arlo for how I acted yesterday. So I thought I'd give them something." He informed, almost whispering in quietness, before showing Verena a bouquet of rather odd looking, purple-flowered plants. "You're going to give them... a bunch of plants?"

He set the plant down on the gound, "Recently I've noticed that the two of them have been getting more and more, you know stressed, tense, not relaxed. So I heard that this plant is good for helping one relax a little when eaten. I thought I'd give it to them in the evening to help as a way for them to have a good night rest."

One could tell that Verena couldn't tell if he was actually being nice or not, there had to be some catch to this no doubt. "So you're giving them... something to eat? And only for them to be more relaxed... No offence but I think this is one of, if not _the_ first time you've actually been nice to Arlo. I'm glad you've seen your mistakes, and I respect your wish to keep it secret for now. Good luck!" Verena said leaving Buck on his own. Not once in his life has Verena been so light to him, it was almost unsettling to him to see things shift tone so fast.

 _Evening (About 17:00 onwards)..._

Dusk had approached, everyone's daily chores were finished for now. Everyone had recalled seeing at least one bright streak going across the sky earlier, however it was dark enough to see the fainter streaks that were taking place. If one was facinated by sudden occurances of a meteor shower, then I'd bet that at least one member of the family would've wish to stay up, instead none of them wanted such thing, most likely because meteor showers like this were common throughout the year. What they did not take into acount was the fact that it was not fully night yet, meaning that the streaks they were seeing at this time was a fraction compared to what they would see in the night.

"You made this for us?" Henry queried, every now and then glancing at the plants, for obvious reasons everyone but Verena had doubted Buck's intention. Though through her trust in Buck as a last chance offer, both Arlo and Henry accepted Buck's apology, before munching on the plants. Everyone else was given another type of plant. Both were as edible as each other, and both had a taste unlike that of the corn they usually relied on. The day had ended weird, but overall rather well in terms of relations...

* * *

 _Deep Night (01:20)..._

No wind. No crickets. No sound. Nothing. The night was a time when only the nocturnals would be active. Even the river itself was calmer and flatter than a mirror, though it still had a current. The homestead however was different, while everyone else was sleeping without much sound, Henry, and especially Arlo, were snoring very loudly. It was very unusual for something this to happen as well, as both of them were the lightest sleepers out of all of them. For some reason, they had gone into a state of deep sleep.

A slight crackling of the hey implied movement, and sure enough one of the apatosaurs did indeed move. At first, one would think they had woken up due to the snoring, but instead of resting, this one went outside for a moment. Not paying attention to the sky, a bright streak revealed the shadowy figure to be none other than Buck, who focused his attention for a few seconds at the sky to see anything, but nothing too interesting had happened to keep his head looking up for any longer.

Without saying a word he ambled slowly, almost crawling, back to the homestead. Inside, he glanced at each member of his family, before staring at Arlo. He peered back to the entrance, almost as if he was fighting an urge inside. But nonetheless, he looked straight back at Arlo. For a split moment, his expression was that not of anger or annoyance, but rather that of sympathy and despair. Lowering his head to the ground, he bit down on a binded vine, before pulling. The small mound of hay Arlo had been resting on was none other than a few pieces of wood covered in hay, and had started to move in sync with the movement Buck was making.

Though they were moving, it wasn't as fast as one would assume, he quickly realised that pulling it too fast would cause the wood to dog into the ground, and wedge it in place. By keeping it slow, he avoided that consequence, and continued. Un-aware as to where he was walking to, his tail had started to brush against something more organic than the ground. He didn't realise who it was he was going past until his back-left foot had lifted and lowered down onto something that protruded from the ground.

Undoing his prevous steps before looking back, he stopped completely as he soon realised he had almost fully stepped onto Henry's nose. From nowhere he could feel his heart pounding, as Henry's snoring had ceased. Stirring for a couple of seconds, it had seemed certain he would wake up and catch Bucks scheme. After some time he slowed down, and stopped, before snoring once again. With a sigh of relief, he continued. In a breif amount of time Buck had dragged the wood, along with the Arlo ontop, outside the house and toward the direction of the silo. When they got to the silo he continued past it, and toward the river, which was still flat.

He had gotten to the point where he had to start shoving, as the river was too close. He pushed and pushed until the make-shift-raft was about half-in the water, and had started to float-

"BUCK!" A loud voice shouted from behind him, Buck jumped and hit the raft, causing it to move slightly. He turned swiftly to see- "YOU TRICKED ME YOU PIECE OF-" She charged at him, kocking him onto the ground and missing the raft. "HOW COULD YOU BUCK?!", he quickly pointed to the homestead, silently telling her that there are still those sleeping nearby. She calmed down, abeit slightly, before kocking him over again. "You haven't answered my question. After me and everyone trusted you, after everyone gave you a last chance, you go around and do this." She sharply whispered to get the point across. By now they were both facing so that they couldn't see the raft.

"Look, you don't underst-"

"Oh really? It looks like I understand quite clearly what you were intending to do, put Arlo on a raft and push it into the river so he can float away during his sleep, how the hell you pulled this off is beyond me. But it doesn't matter, you went against my trust, you went against Henry's trust, and you went against Arlo's trust. What part of your brain even thought of this as a stupid joke is the question no one in all time could answer. No one except you of course. So tell, me: WHY?!" She was no doubt infuriated to say the least. Before he could respond however, she looked past him and ran, pumbing past him. Looking to his direction, he realised that the raft had already gone adrift.

For Verena, she wouldn't dare look back to see if Buck followed her. As she couldn't hear any other footsteps behind, she could tell Buck indeed didn't follow. _"The traitor to the family he is. I'll get him when this is over."_ She caught up to the raft, and soon realised that they were between the mountains already. The current had increased in speed, though the river was still flat. Every now and then it would bump into one of the rocks that spiked out from the river level, and would thus go around it instead. Slowly, it got gloser and closer to Verena.

There was only one problem, they had now gone past the mountains, and into a U-shapped valley, and She could hear the sound of rushing water. It got close enough for her to grab hold of with her tail, but due to the absolue weight of the raft and Arlo on top, it was extremely difficult for Verena to prevent herself from going into the river too. Her grip shrank less and less, until there was no way she could hold onto the river bank any longer.

Instead of falling into the river, her foot was caught by another tail, which was strong enough to pull them both onto the dry land.

Looking to see who it was, she was surprised to see it was none other than Buck. "AND NOW YOU WANT TO HELP!? WHAT IS GOING ON IN YOUR HEAD!?" she shouted, the echo repeating as it hit the mountains.

* * *

Verena and Buck walked aside back to the homestead, with Arlo being layed out perpendicular to Buck's back. "Why. After all you've done, why did you save me and Arlo?" She was worried, confused, and even questioned Bucks sanity.

"Over the years that had past, Arlo's trouble had made me not only annoyed, but angry on the inside. It wasn't much at first. But up to this point I kept thinking about taking him out of the family. There was one thing that stalled me back: your trust. That was the last thing to stop me from going over the edge, at least for a few more hours. I even regretted doing this as I was doing it. When you asked why I had done it, I couldn't do anything else but think upon it. It was at that point, I had realised the terrible mistake I had been doing. I don't blame Arlo for his actions, not anymore. However, as you can tell, there's no way I can describe my apologies to Arlo, should he become aware of it."

"Speaking of that, how did you get Arlo and Henry to go into such a sleep?"

"You haven't noticed? Notice how I have you guys different plants from those I have Poppa and Arlo. While the plants you had had no effects, the ones I gave them had sedative effects. And as you can tell, Arlo was given more than Poppa."

"So you gave Arlo and Henry sedative plants to send them to this state? Geez the things you'd do to get something done. I'm guessing you gave Arlo enough to be in this stare for the entire night, and Henry enough to carry out the plan?"

"Yep, he should be back to normal soon." They had arrived at the homestead. Laying Arlo down, as if nothing ever happened, they went back out to discuss more.

"So what now Buck?"

"As Arlo has no knowledge of what happened, I don't think I can tell him tomorrow, perhaps the day after. However, to prove to you that I'm done with this... I'll tell Poppa everything. I'll tell how you saved him too."

"Buck. I know you've changed and all. But telling Henry will lead you into a lot more trouble than you're already in. Look, if he found out that you sedated them BOTH and nearly kicked Arlo out, lets just say that those skullcap plants of yours would be a lot more useful then."

"I appreciate the concern, but I'm sticking with this plan. If I get beaten up, then it's my fault, not his. Okay Verena?"

"Fine then..." The scene had calmed, and the river had no longer stayed calm. It was the first time they looked up, and had finally understood how unusual the meteor shower had been. It was almost like the stars themselves were moving. Every now and then, an unusually bright streak would appear. After about thirty minutes of gazing, they had decided that it was time to go back in the homestead.

One thing kept them from doing that. "Hey Verena, look at that." Buck muttered, looking in the direction of an intensly bright streak. It kept getting brighter and brighter, and it was apparent it was going to strike near. Eventually it was so intense that they had to look away, and could hardly tell if it was day or not. The light soon faded to a yellow-ish glow, they turned to see a gargantuin fireball, since they were by the silo, it was in the direction of the homestead. The fireball was still bright enough to see the clouds moving away nearby. A thick dust cloud could be visible below the fireball. Whatever object had come from above, it had exploded just before it slammed to the gorund.

Visibly, they could see the other four members of the family go outside, with Arlo being on Henry's back. Looking back at the fireball, the trees near it looked as if they'd been stripped, and were now flying. The realisation struck them like a bullet; this was a shockwave intense enough to flatten the forest adjacent to them.

"BUCK LAY DOWN ON THE GORUND NOW!" Verena shouted, both of them doing so as the other four followed nearby. Suddenly, the forest-front instantly flattened, along with the grass. And then, the loudest of sounds ever heard rattled the area. The blast of the shockwave was so powerful that it levelled not only the homestead, but also the silo and most of the crops. For a period of time, a sharp ringing sound rang in all of their eardrums.

There was no doubt that something was different about the meteor shower, but as the farm wound need to be rebuilt overnight, there was no time to question the event.

* * *

 **A/N: Okay I know I'm late on this one, had a busy weekend and so couldn't have the time to write a chapter. With that being said, I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and have enjoyed the story so far!  
**

 **Next chapter: When Mountains Move  
**

 **Fun Facts: Skullcap is an actual plant known to be a good sedative, however the effects were exaggereted in this chapter.  
**


	8. Page 08 - When Mountains Move

The result of the explosion nearby was immense, everything including the homestead and the silo had been flattened. Even the crops had been flattened, since it was nearing winter however, it was lucky that they were all strpped from the ground without going too far. Fortunately for all of them, nothing had affected the stones with the marks on. Night passed quicker than previously thought, with no one getting any rest throughout due to the rebuilding of the homestead and the silo.

* * *

By morning, everything had been completely rebuilt. Though not without everyone feeling even more tired and restless than before. Upon questioning what exactly happened, they came to the conclusion that no one could've stopped it, and that no one could've predicted it. While the destruction caused by a 10 meter meteorite had lingered into the day, the worst was yet to come, as the blood-thirsty 15 kilometer, that's 9 miles, wide asteroid was now closer than the Moon, with no more defenses, and no more delays, it was ready to strike. The only thing that was left... was time.

"Buck, could you come with me for a moment? I need to talk to you... in _private_." Henry was made aware of Buck's actions during the night before, and as promised it was Buck who made him aware. _"At least he could keep some of his promises."_ Verena thought as she watched them slowly walk to the mountains; the only place where it was not possible to see or hear what they would say. A full half an hour passed before they came back, with Henry looking more like a large accident occured, and Buck looking as though he didn't want anyone to see something. Eyeing each other, Buck changed course to sit by Verena on the river bank.

"You good Buck?" Verena asked casually, not paying much attention for a responce.

"I'm fine. Don't worry about me."

"I'm guessing you learn't your lesson?"

"In my opinion, 'learning' would be an understatement."

"Wait, why?" Verena now turned to Buck, however he wasn't looking back. In fact he was looking in the opposite direction. "Hello, I'm speaking in this direction Buck."

"I know. I just don't wish to look."

"That's rather un-social for you. Come on, this is not how a conversation is meant to be." He wouldn't turn a muscle, "Buck I'm serious. Why won't you look at me." She got up and tried to go around him. To her astonishment, he turned with her. Since Buck was on Verena's right, she wasn't able to see his right side, and as he turned with her, it was as if he didn't _want_ her to see. Finally she had enough, and jumped over him. Full of pride for a spit second, she soon stopped, only now realising why he didn't want her to see his other side.

While his left side was normal, his right side was full of streaks of bruises with a few cuts and gashes here and there, the largest of which was almost the length of his body and as wide as his neck. It wasn't bloody, but it was definitely more bumpy and red than the natural skin. His neck and even his face had also been littered with these cuts and grazes. Verena did nothing but look at the sight, no words came out, and her face stood still.

Buck was the first to break the silence, "Well I guess you were to know eventually. Just, don't mention this to anyone else okay." She nodded, before asking. "Henry didn't do this to you, right?"

He sighed before his response cam through. "This? This was Henry's doing. He couldn't stop himself, only when I was pleading for help did he stop. And never before had I sene him with that look."

"What look?"

"The one of regret. Just regret, nothing else. It's the look one would make after they've done a terrible mistake, and would sacrifice anything to take it back. He didn't look at me afterwards, but I knew at that point just how much I broke him. As I mentioned before, don't tell this to anyone. Not even Henry. Promise?" Buck asked, almost pleaded.

"Well... Okay then. You did something good in the end, and I honestly feel sorry for you. So yeah, I promi-" Verena was interrupted, someone had called out to her, at least, that's what she thought she heard. Listening out for it again, she could recognise Henry's voice calling out for her name. Both Buck and Verena walked, with Buck making sure no one could see his right side, to the silo where Henry and the others were.

Confused, she glanced at Henry. She could immediately see the regret Buck talked about, however it also looked like it was, at least tried to be, covered by satisfaction. "It's time Verena." He said softly.

"For what?"

"For you to place your mark. You've earned it." The thing Verena worried about most; getting a mark prior to Arlo's achievement, had just come. There seemed ot be no way of backing out of this. Unless...

"And how exactly have I 'earned' this mark? I don't recall doing anything noteworthy today." She decided that if the topic regarding Buck's actions were to be a secret, then threatening to break that secret was the only way out of this situation she was now in. She glanced only for a second in Arlo's direction, and she could already tell that he was worrying about his mark.

As she predicted, it was quite a while before Henry could respond with a reasonable answer. "Well, you did help out the most last night, and for that I think that the determination you had is a valid reason to have your mark." Although his reason was a lie to why exactly she deserved her mark, she almost had the instinct to put her mark instantly. However, she knew that to complete her promise, she would have to give up that opportunity, not that it mattered much to her.

"While that is something to be noted, I have reason to believe that I was not the most 'determined' to rebuild the homestead and the silo. It was you and Ida, not me. And thus I believe that it is not right for me to put my mark on the silo. In fact I have reason to not put my mark on the silo, even if I did something beyond my expectations. While I love the offer Henry, I'm afraid I'm going to have to refuse, indefinitely." She left, before anyone could respond.

"You sure this mark thing was a good idea Henry?" Ida asked, the one true question he had tried to avoid. "Honestly, I'm not so sure..." he said, loud enough for everyone but Verena to hear. For an unknown reason, his face lit up once more. "Although, I may have an idea."

* * *

"Why'd you do it?" Verena rotated a full 180 to find Arlo right in front of her. "You would've done it. Why didn't you want it?"

"I don't think I deserve to put mine up before you. It's my duty to make sure you're okay and protected, I guess that means you're protected twice over if you include Henry- mo so if you include the others. However, if I am to fully make sure you're okay, then I have to let you earn your mark before mine. Otherwise my purpose of making you 'stronger' would fail."

"But Verena, there's no point."

"Oh Arlo, don't be like that. You just need to find something... different. Try different jobs, until you find one best for you." Verena said, hoping to give some advice.

"Hey Verena, would you come here with me, I got a job for you." Henry called out. Though Verena was interested, she stopped, and came up with a plan.

"Arlo, would you go to Henry?"

"But he asked _you_."

"Exactly, this is just the opportunity I'm thinking of. At least try the job, I'm sure if you fail Henry will realise it's you and stop. Okay?" Thinking about it for a moment, he was mostly reluctant. But if Verena really had that much faith in him, and Henry would be surprised if it was Arlo doing the job, and not her. Then maybe it wasn't too hard to pull it off. Though still reluctant, he walked over to Henry in hopes that the job would be worth it.

* * *

After another hour of just sitting by the river, Verena heard Arlo once more. A loud yell, one that only lasted a couple of seconds. Getting up and sneaking behind the silo, she listened to their conversation. Apparently the job was something about taking care of a critter problem, which would explain the yelling. Instantaneously the voices stopped. She walked around to see them not only leave the silo, but also the farm borders.

"What was that about?" Libby asked Ida, both of them noticing Arlo walking away with Henry. They immediately noticed Verena walking from the silo and called out. "Hey Verena, were you with them?"

"Not exactly, near enough to hear them, but not enough to be part of the conversation."

"Well, can you explain all of that tiff between them then?" Ida questioned. "Arlo and Henry? Something about a critter problem. I think Henry wanted Arlo to take care of some kind of critter, seeing the trap they had made."

"Why on Earth would Henry give Arlo that job. He knows that Arlo wouldn't do that." Verena had no choice but to tell them. "He wasn't intending for Arlo to do it. He expected me to do it."

"But why would Arlo take your place?"

"Becuase I believed that if he did it instead of me then he'd get his mark, we weren't told of what exactly the job was, and considering what happened last night with all the rebuilding stuff, I didn't believe he'd ask for a job like this."

"Well, it's not your fault but, you should get to them before things go too far." Ida said, and with that Verena accellarated in the direction of Henry and Arlo, jumping over the border fence.

* * *

A family with ever increasing tentions, nothing too odd about that, similar families were everywhere around the world. Under normal aspects, this Apatosaur family would be irrelevant and expendable. There was only one thing that specialised this particular family: the next change of events thoughout the day were to turn their ordinary lives into desperate, extraordinary adventures of survival and exploration. About 300 miles above the Gulf Of Mexico, the 9-mile wide asteorid hurtled towards ground zero. Blink, and one would miss the underlying aspects of the collision that fortold the next years afterwards.

If one were to slow down time, they'd see a lot of things. First, the asteroid came at a low angle from the south. This means that most of the force of the collision would be directed to the north. Secondly, the immense size of the asteroid meant that when it collided with the bottom of the sea, the top of the asteroid would've still been 9 miles above sea level. Thirdly, the asteroid smashed into a location where sulfur was abundent, which will play a key role later on. And finally, the depth of the water it struck was low enough, so that the force wouldn't of been dampened enough to lower the overall impact of the collision.

With that being said, the asteroid slammed into the Yucatan Peninsula with such force that it, at least for a few moments, affected the mantle beneath. The light both from the entry of the asteroid through the atmosphere and the impact had created enough light so that skin and muscle looked translucent, with only the bones being opaque, from the range of 500km. So much force from the impact that it created fusion, and completely melted the affected crust. A series of outcomes generated from this titanic collision had now raced outwards from the initial impact.

There was the shockwave, debris field, ejecta, sulfur and water clouds, tsunami, and lastly the earthquake. All of these were moving, and it was only a matter of time before the Apatosaur family would witness and feel it's full effects.

* * *

At the riverside, Libby decided to have a small drink for the day, not a lot. A bright light captured her attention as she looked south; the opposite direction that from the mountain. Confused to see a large glow, as bright as the sun, just above the horizon, she immediately notified Ida and Buck of this glow.

"It's just the sun Libby. There's nothing bad about the sun."

"Not if the sun is already high in the sky." She said, Ida stopped stripping the corn that had been stripped the previous night, and looked. To her dumfoundedness, the sun was indeed semi-high up in the sky, while this glow was on the horizon. Moments later, visible streaks were seen emerging from the glow, unaware that these were large fragments burning through the atmosphere as they went upwards into space, soon to come back down. Nothing else had happened for the next few minutes. However, the wind started to pick up.

I know what you'd say, 'the wind doesn't matter in this case'. It does in this case, what they were feeling was in fact the shockwave, they were far enough from the impact site to not get a shockwave, but rather a wind that would soon increase with speed until it would hit hurricane speeds. As of the meantime, it was just a small gust of wind. As the wind grew faster, beyond 20pmh, they took notice of the trend of rising wind speed over time, and not just increasing constantly, it was accellarating. In only half the time it went to 40mph, and if it continued, it would be fast enough to affect the rebuilt homestead and silo.

Making a rather quick decision, Ida called Libby and Buck over, before all of them left the homestead border. Un-aware that it would be the last time they'd see the place for a long time, they ran at their own speeds to the Clawtooth Mountains; the only place that wouldn't be affected by stong winds. Ida glanced, only to be horrified of a large meteor drilling through the atmosphere and crashing directly on top of the homestead. The explosion from the impact no doubt destroyed everything else they had made, and the shockwave from it was powerful enough to push them onto the ground. All of them looked back at the place they once knew as home, as the dust cloud created from the small event came rushing toward them due to the wind. Once it had passed, it was plain that getting to the mountains was a requirement.

Past the mountains, Henry and Arlo persisted in their hunt for the critter he had lost. Taking a momentary peek up, Arlo could easily see that the weather had changed drastically. Henry on the other hand took Arlo's glance as a moment of distraction. "Verena, I said to keep moving okay.", "For the last time I'm Arlo." He sighed, there was no use convincing Henry at this point. Coming to the conclusion that Henry thought he was Verena retending to be Arlo, he knew that only Verena could stop this. Surely enough, Verena had indeed caught up with the two. She first called out to them. No responce despite the wind direction. Calling out louder gave some responce from Arlo.

With no other choice, she called out Henry at the loudest volume she could. "HENRY I SAID STOP!" Both Arlo and Henry immediately turned around. "Arlo are you okay?" Verena asked as she caught up with them.

"I'm fine Verena."

"Wait, if you're Verena, then-" They could see the realisation he had made. "It's not your fault Henry, it's mine for thinking Arlo could do my job without knowing what it was. Now please, lets get back before the others start to worry."

"Okay okay, but can I just say one thing to Arlo first." Henry pleaded, before turning to Arlo. "Arlo, I'm-"

"Henry, Arlo, Verena, get over here." Ida called out, all three were mildly confused that the other three were also on the other side of the mountains.

"What's the meaning of this Ida?" Henry queried as they started to climb up to the other three. "There's a huge gust of wind taking place." Buck responded, "And our home got destroyed by a big rock!" Libby followed. "I'm afraid the mountains are the only thing to protect us from this." Ida concernly spoke.

Thinking for a moment, Henry replied with "Look, when it passes, we'll just have to move somewhere else, perhaps adjacent to the impact site? There's always a way out of this guys, everything will be fine once this all passes."

As the wind continued to increase, a sudden jolt from the mountain itself singalled something immense had just hit the mountain. To their complete horror, the sides of the mountain became enveloped by the fastest of winds, clouds and dust. Looking above, the same thing was happening, it was like a large flamethrower was blasting at the mountains. As time passed, the ever increasing temperature made things unbearable for the family until it had passed. With the temperature colling at least somewhat of a pace, the orange clouds above gave a dangeroud feel to everything.

All around they could see how burnt everything had become, and with the rushing winds no longer here, the affected objects sontaneoudly combusted. Flames from below had covered the entire area that could be seen from their point of view; the middle of the mountain. If the burning of everything was on this side of the mountain, then what had happened to the other side was only speculation. For some time, there was only them, the mountains, and the burning plants and trees.

From above, the next wave of destruction literally rained down upon them. Molten rock rain, fragments of the rock ejected from the initial blast of the collision had now fallen back to the ground. Fortunately due to the angle of the hellish rain, the mountain served as some protection, with the rocks being mere meters away from where the family were. As one could tell, they were beyond frightened.

Another, more powerful jolt from the mountain, accompanied by the sudden shift in landscape, initiated the new threat: A powerful, magnitude 13 earthquake, had ripped through the land, causing the land to bend like waves, and snap. Every now and then, the land they were on would sink below the land in front, before rising back up. This repeated a few times over, with each reveal of the landscape before their eyes being different each time. Each wave of destruction had only made things worse, but the last one to strike at this time would put the final nail in the coffin.

Unknown to them, the entire land had been so effected by the earthquake that most of it had now been moved below sea level, meaning that the tsunami that would soon follow would be big enough to effect the landscape. As it came rushing by, the wave moved high up the mountain until it crashed into the family, before pulling them into the sea. As the land started to rise once more, the water reversed current, forcing them out of the area that they once knew.

As a last goodbye to the family, a much larger fragment of rock hurtled through the air, and smashed into the tallest of the clawtooths such that the top had oblitterated. And with that, their adventure began.

* * *

 **A/N: This was meant to be put out on Monday, but due to school slowing down the rate of production, and the length of this chapter, it had to be pushed back. Heck I even told a friend of mine that the chapter would've bene released sooner, but nope, school work had to come first. I still have some to do, but I just needed to finish this chapter before the weekend. And since I don't have school today, it was the perfect opportunity. So here!  
**

 **EDIT: I won't be uploading chapters this weekend, however I will be uploading chapters next weekend.**

 **Now, time for the _true_ adventure.**

 **Next chapter: Open Your Eyes  
**

 **Fun Facts: While the effects of the asteroid (especially the earthquake and tsuanmi) have been exaggerated, the statistics are true to the latest studies.  
**

 *** Tiff:** **a petty quarrel (argument), especially one between friends or lovers.**


	9. Page 09 - Open Your Eyes

**Location: 23°19'36.84"S. 70°34'57.90"W.**

Blackness. Nothingness. Like a void that filled everything. It was hard for one to tell whether the events that happened before were just a dream, or reality. This was wrong, nothing could've possibly made the landscape do that, right? But if it was a dream, why was everything black now? After what seemed like mere minutes, which could've easily been the space of a couple of weeks, somthing did emerge from the endless darkness. A faint, very faint, light- too blurry to make an exact justification as to what was in front, but it was getting clearer. Soon, the light; now a dark beige colour, had filled the view.

Sand?

Where _was_ this place? Then, from the left side, a small swell of water ran through, before being pulled out again. Sounds were now coming through. First, the sounds of water breaking- waves crashing, then, the faint noise of the wind. This was a beach wasn't it?

As Ida adjusted to the new surroundings, the thought had onlt just started to sink in: Where was everyone else? The answer was plain and simple, putting 2 and 2 together it was clear she had to find them quick. Trying to stand up, she collapsed back down, either due to a wound or because of how long it had been since she last saw anything.

Cliffs surrounded the tiny beach, about 700 feet (240 meters) long and barely 10 feet (3 meters) from cliff to the sea, that is unless the tide was high. These cliffs weren't too high, though varied immensly, some were over 5 times her height, others were only half her height. Unusually, these cliffs were of a light beige colour, indicating that this might be a fairly brittle rock. In confirmination, there indeed was a part of the cliff that looked to have recently collapsed, with a small river creating a small chine behind said land fall.

Looking up the chine, it was only now she had realised how cloudy the sky really was, there was no longer a patch of sky that was even remotely clear. Though there was at least some light passing through, it felt like it was always fading. There was no point in staying on this beach, though in some regards she was thankful that she landed on a beach and not some cave or anything dangerous.

Though at first uneasy, she was able to walk about half-way up the steep chine before making a tangent out of it. From here the view out to the ocean was vast, and across the land was, for some reason, a rust-coloured mountain. It wasn't pointy like Clawtooth, it was more rounded, with only one 'peak' and the rest being lower. Deciding not to go higher to get a better view, she went back down onto the plains, where she could see clearly that there was a pass between the rusty mountain and the steep beige hills she was on, though there was kind of a angle so there was no way to tell how far the rusty mountain actually was.

Usually, there would be some way of telling where home was if she wasn't too far; a river of some kind or something else. However with none of that, going in land was really the only option, since sticking to the coast would end up to the steep mountains in the distance. For about 2 miles, nothing on the horizon changed, and it felt like she was going no where, though upon turning back there would be some indication of movement. So with that she decided to go more to the left, so that she would skim just past the beige hills. There was a bit of a climb, however she made sure not to push her body too much as to pull any muscles.

The view had started to progress more, where it was no longer possible to see where she'd started, it was easy to see that the rusty mountain was too far away to walk to, yet alone climb up. In the distance however, there seemed to be more water, but as it was too far inland to be connected to the sea, it had to have been a lake. With only one direction to find out for certain that it was a lake, Ida went up the hills further, making sure not to directly climb to the summit. At the higest point she'd allow herself to climb, the view opened up to a vast plain of red, white, and beige sand with hill-ish mountains in the far distance, and the lake was definitely big. However, it was still not possible to tell whether or not if the lake was connected to the sea, as the rusty mountain was blocking that part.

If it was connected, it wasn't going to be safe to drink, though if it wasn't connected, how it got there in the first place would be the next question, as it would be completely surrounded by this desert. Going back down to this large desert plain was going to be one of the many challenges in Ida's journy back home, as it was all downhill- steep of course. Luckily, the sand helped cushion any struggle going downhill, and was actually easier than first thought. While the rusty mountain would be impossible to climb, and the lake being potentially salty, there were some more rusty-coloured mountains out near the horizon.

Across the desert she went, looking back every now and then to see how far from the rusty mountain and beige hills she was. Soon, the beige sand she had been walking through blended into the rust colour she kept seeing. Whether it contain a certian material or if it was even sand or not did not metter to her. Though still worrying about how the rest of her family were coming along, letting that stop her from travelling would be a waste.

Eventually, the rusty hills that used to be so far had now approched closer. Looking back, the rusty mountain and beige hills were still quite large for their distance. I say rusty hills, as the rusty mountains were still quite far away, and these hills were one of the only things protruding from the plains. Upon closer inspection, the rusty mountains were in fact more of a dark-brownish-red colour, and the sands in front of her slowly faded to said colour. There was more desert to walk across.

When the mountains did arrive, they seemed daunting to pass, however, with push comes to shove, every mountain has some kind of river system. Sure enough, there was one that went straight through, albeit with a sertain angle and wasn't as straight due to the terrain. On the plus side, it was a shallow slope to walk up, which was fine for Ida. At the top, it was expected to find a slope going back down, to her surprise, it was flat- with some small hills hare and there. Through the hills she walked, or in between the hills. There was indeed a downward slope, but ti was so shallow it might as well be flat and then, at the far distance, there was more rust-coloured land.

Whatever desert this was, it was certainly big for one.

Past more rust mountains and rust plains, and going around some white-ish hills, layed for some reason a large downward slope that seemed to have no end. With the only safe way down being an alluvial fan, she walked down and changed direction to be parallel to said slopes, now recognisable to be a scarp and vale land feature. In the far, very far distance, layed more mountains. Thinking twice about the reucurrance of mountains, though indeed they were different, the light from the clouds definitely were starting to fade now, night was approaching thus. If she could make it to the mountains before then, then perhaps there would be some way of telling how much further the desert was, that and there might be shelter.

A long, long journey persued, sands turned to stone and back, each of different colours of red, white, beige, purple-ish black, and all sorts of other colours between. A small, brown-ish hill in the plains, just in front of the mountains she wanted to get to, had also started to loom closer, and while it was indeed openign to nightfall, it was still hot enough to see the ground shimmer. For a moment, Ida thought she had seen an apatosaur heading toward the same small lone hill, but the terrain and the shimmering made it possible that it was just an illusion.

But it would always come back, again and again, each time lasting longer. Might it be a member of the family? Or just a lone wanderer. And who ever it was could see her too, as the apatosaur had started to change to the direction of the hill. It was settled, they would meet eachother at the top of this hill despite not knowing who they were from a distance. As the hill concealed them from seeing each other, both Ida and the apatosaur were determined to see who they were more so. Though the hill was steep and the chance of slipping on the rocks was high, it didn't matter. If this apatosaur was as determined to see her as much as she of it, then it had to be some member of the family, it _had to be_.

* * *

 ** _Audio Message #1: Subject Member #4: Member #4, also known as Ida, seems to be in near-perfect condition with only a few bruises. She's still able to travel long distances over short periods of times. Chances of survival seem to be relatively high as of now, however fresh water will need to be aquired soon. Overall I have high hopes for Member #4 until further notice. End of Message._  
**

* * *

 **A/N: As I said in the Winter Special of "Henry's Long Adventure", Christmas and New Years is very busy for my family, so unfortunately I couldn't write at the time, but I knew I could write this weekend, so I did! Right now there's not too much danger where Ida is, for now at least. I hope you enjoyed the chapter and the story so far.**

 **Next chapter: Desolate Wastelands  
**

 **Fun Facts: I've been using Google Earth to plan out the routes taken by each member of the family for each chapter. I might make an album showing off all of the journey or maybe make a subreddit or idk. Though linking it is gonna be tough.  
**


	10. Page 10 - Desolate Wastelands

**Location: 24°35'04.26"S. 70°33'07.39"W.**

From the blackness, Libby opened her eyes, squinting so that her eyes wouldn't hurt from seeing things for the first time in... however long it had been since her home had been destroyed. Fortunately, it wasn't long for her to fully adjust and stand up. For some reason, she had somehow been placed above the current sea level, whether someone had taken her out of the water, or if it was just the tide, was up to her questioning. All around the flat sandy-ish beach she currently resided in was surrounded by vast mountains, looking for any path out of the enclave, the mountains did indeed go from coastline to coastline, there was no way out.

Unless...

It was then she heard a faint noise, just loud enough to make out, but it was consistent. Walking to whatever the noise was, it became sharper, more identifiable, until it was clearly the sound of running water- a stream, flowing down from the top of the v-shaped valley. With no owther way out of this small inlet, she made her way up the stream. Twists and bends made sure she couldn't see how far up she had climbed, or even how far she had left to go, she just kept going up, and up, and up.

After what had felt to her like 2 hours passing, the steep path she had taken had only just start to even out to a small plain covered by hills. Where the river seemed to bend to the left she turned right, where only one or two hills were visible- and going past said hills, a much wider plateau outlined by hills emerged. Seeming like there was no obvious way to go, she observed the outline of the hills; noticing that the hills in front dipped down slightly. It wasn't much to go by, but it was a good enough excuse to go in that directon.

There were some things she noticed as she kept walking, such as the change in colour of the sands, they were a range of colours from a light beige to a rust red colour, and sometimes even a dark- almost black colour. Looking from the top of the hill revealed the steep decent down to the vast desert area covered in hills and mountains. Perhaps going down this hill and then walking parallel to it might be more helpful than going across a desert. She knew that deserts were known to be notiriously dry, so going deeper into said desert would be of no use to her. So with those two instincts she galloped down the hill, doing her best not to trip over both going down and slowing down at the bottom.

No way to know if turning left or right would be the best of decisions, but something about going left felt comfortable to Libby. With that, she walked parallel to the scarp and vale hills, all the way until they had shrunck beyond recognition. Making a slow left turn again she came across a junction, where she could either go left, probably back to where she started, or right, which had a smooth downhill approach. It was obvious enough that she turned right, but along the way, there had to of been some thought process that made her turn right again, perhaps it was the mountains in front that made her think it was a dead end.

After some twists and turns, uphills and downhills, smooth and rough terrain, there was something along the plateau she was on currently that caught her attention: a series of small, but narrow blocks of some kind. Before her eyes layed something she'd never seen before, and all attention/curiosity focused on whatever those things were. Arriving to the site showed that they were used as living space, like the homestead.

"Uuh, Anyone here?" Libby called out, almost too nervous to get her own words out. It seemed fortunate, or unfortunate, that no responce came from the wood-clay-mixed buildings. Venturing further, toward the apparent center of the hamlet, various sounds other than the wind were audible. Creaking, rattling, various ambient sounds coming from each and every building. Seeing that this place might've been abandoned due to something similar to the event that destroyed her home, Libby thought it would be best not to hang around too long.

Without warning, a tail grasped hold and spun her 180 degrees, forcing her to face an intimidating Parasaurolophus. The sudden situation she had now succumb to was enough for her to stop moving in fear. All she could do is stare, hoping that whatever events happened next were fortunate.

"Could we get this lass some w'ter? She looks in need of it!" the Parasaurolophus called out. "You really don't have to do that mam, I'm fine really." Libby said, really it was more that she was still uncomfortable of the situation. "No really, you look real parched young one. Ey uh, what's ya name?", "Uuuh, it's Libby." For some odd reason, the Parasaurolophus seemed delighted of the name. "Why, that's the sweetest name I've heard around here." Most likely a compliment, Libby felt slightly flattered, this hamlet seemed to be kind enough to immedately get her both food and water. As the day went by, it felt like they had given her all the hospitality she needed.

"We would love it for you to stay, ever since the apocolypse occured, we've had it hard, but only here will you be comfortable for years to come!" Another member of the hamlet said, sounding much more defined than the previous aquaintence she met. Instinct made her feel the need to say yes, but there was something that kept her from doing so. A croud of various dinosaurs were emerging from each building, all of them wanting her to stay. It was then they all lifted their heads up, seemingly no longer focused on Libby but rather on something else.

As Libby turned around, she could see an impending cloud cover slowly creeping in, one that had an unusual yellow colour to it. Confused, Libby asked them why they were weary of the clouds. In responce, they explained that clouds of this colour recently came around and rained down a liquid unlike water, one that burned the skin of any animal, while also explaining that that last time it came around the buildings nearly collapsed, threatening their lives, and that this time, there was no chance of them surviving.

"Libby, you must go now, away from the clouds, just go, GO!" Although she was forced to leave, she knew it was a better chance of survival leaving the hamlet than to stay and risk being killed. Pacing as fast as she could, unknowingly going north-east, she soon slowed down as the cloud changed direction after raining down on the town. Although she felt a deep sympathy for everyone there, it was going to be hopeless going back and trying to rescue those who had just recently helped her.

The sun had started to set, and normal-white clouds had covered 80% of the sky, excluding said sun. She could tell however someone was partially blocking the sun, casting a silouhette on the land. Understanding the direction this one was walking to, she changed direction to head in a direction closer to north (of course still not knowing she was going north). As this dinosaur got closer, it had seemed like they both saw each other. A lone hill amongst the vast plain seemed to be the direction both were heading in, getting closer and closer, until the hill blocked their view. As Libby climbed up, not knowing who would be on the other side.

And then they saw each other, full recognition on both their faces. As the sun set, its rays casted upon Ida and Libby, now reunited. Running to each other's sides, they embraced for a moment or two. "I'm so glad you're here Libby. You okay?"

"Yes momma, I'm fine."

A silent pause ensued.

"Well then, if you're close, the others can't be too far right?"

* * *

 ** _Audio Message #2: Subject Member #6: Member #6, also known as Libby, has successfully located Member #4. Total distance travelled about 252 Km (157 miles). Along the way, she has met friends of many kinds in a small hamlet, now destroyed by an acid rain storm. Providing all goes well, they both should be ready to continue their way back home. Chances of survival for both are positively high. End of Message._  
**

* * *

 **A/N: Sorry for the long wait, mock exams are a pain sometimes. At this point I wouldn't be surprised if you guys thought I was coming up with a bunch of excuses so that I wouldn't do more chapters, that's not the case. I love making these chapters, it's just that writers block and life stuff keep me from getting these out on time. My attempt right now is to just hope nothing else happens, I'm so sorry for not being as active. But anyways, I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and the story so far!  
**

 **Next chapter: An Apaton Truce  
**

 **Fun Facts: N/A  
**


	11. Page 11 - An Apaton Truce

**Location: 6°06'29.60"S. 81°03'03.46"W.**

 **Time: 2 weeks 3 days**

Before we get in, I'd like to say sorry for not including the time in chapters 8&9, both being a time of 2 weeks since their home was destroyed. Anyways where was I? Oh right.

Buck had already awoken after what seemed like weeks, and with not many choices left simply watched the sea, somewhat lost in the rhythmic motion of waves and sand, swaying back and fourth with the violent sounds of crashing waves, attacking the sand as if they were sworn enemies. No sun was visible, and it was not clear what time of day it was. Morning, afternoon, evening or night, they all had the same light now; desaturated and low. From behind, the slow angle of the beach lead to minor hills of sand, emitting fine grains as the wind brushed by.

A small groan, somewhat in pain and somewhat in confusion, sounded from the right of the lone Apatosaur. Being so used to the sounds before, it startled him back into reality. His sight locked in onto another apatosaur, much larger than him. Whoever this was was resting on his right side, in a position that one could tell meant they had tried to get up before. Surprised that he didn't hear the other Apatosaur fall in the first place, Buck went over to help.

"You alright there sir?" Almost instantly the apatosaur turned to him, and in a course-but-weak tone, uttered "I'm on my side from just recently falling over on my injured side, and you're telling me if I'm 'alright'? Back off will you?" Knowing the current mood of this one, Buck did as he was told, but there was something about this Apatosaur that seemed familiar, a mostly cubic snout matched with deep brown irises. This couldn't be, but the tone and wording this apatosaur wasn't unlike who Buck was thinking of.

"Poppa?" Once again, the apatosaur glared at him, more with confusion that with annoyance. "I'm not your 'Poappa', whoever you are, and you're not my son either, never had any." As the apatosaur tried once again to stand, Buck was there to assist him, as to make sure he wouldn't fall. Upon this, Buck ovserved all the scars and wounds on the Apatosaur, both old and new. Whoever this guy was went through a lot both before and after the event that claimed Buck's home.

Though hopeful that his assistance would gain some trust, it proved to be futile. "While I appreciate your help, I don't plan on getting back with company. _Okay?_ "

"And where is this place, may I ask." Buck insisted, perhaps they lived close. "None of your business, kid." The apatosaur huffed, before walking away from Buck. There was no point in getting him back, so in responce, Buck said one final thing before leaving. "Fine then, I'll find my own way to Clawtooth Mountain then, if you're gonna be like that." Although slightly intimidated by ealier events, he knew he'd have to stand up for himself eventually.

While the hill looked easy enough for Buck to go over, there was something about it that looked like something bad was on the other side. By instinct, Buck went around the small hill, only to see that there was indeed a small v-shaped valley in the middle, which would've been too steep for him to go down- yet alone climb back up. Upon reaching the other side of the hill, a deep thumping sound could be felt through the ground. Rotating his whole body, Buck raced to the apatosaur, who for some reason had now started to follow him.

"You know where Clawtooth Mountain is?" The apatosaur asked, still containing a faded voice. "Of course not, however it's worth trying right?"

"Well, in that case, you don't mind if I tag along do you?" As the apatosaur got back up again, something felt odd to Buck that this apatosaur, once weary upon him, now seemed to bow down to him. It didn't feel right.

"Sure, if we actually introduce ourselves for once." Trust was going to be a minor concern on this journey, there was no doubt about it. Their walking sped up as they talked back and fourth. "Oh right, well, my name is Russel Apaton. You?" Russel progressed the conversation, "Well, it's Buck." It seemed to Buck as if Russel was waiting for him to say something else. "You don't have a last name?", "Not one Poppa told us of, or any I know."

"How... odd, usually within the northern lands everyone has a name and surname. It seems your family might be the only exception. Has your mother said anything about a surname?"

"We never actually bring the topic up, just seemed normal at the time that it was pointless having surnames when there's just five of us." Russel stopped, making sure he wouldn't fall to his injuries a third time. "You used to live in a homestead I'm guessing, out next to the Clawtooth Mountains with no one to bother you except the occasional critter or two. Seems like a calm life at first, but once you're into the common territories well- you better be prepared."

Some of the language, and words, Russel used were unfamilar to Buck. Might be better knowing those terms for future use. "May I ask what you mean by 'Northern Lands' and 'Common Territories' ?" They continued to walk once more across the beige sand, minding all the shrubery that were in random places. "Did your parents not even tell you that?! Fine then, I guess I'm the first to tell you then. 'Northern Lands' refers to the land masses that are on the northern part of the known world, which is why there's also the 'Southern Lands' as well. Onto 'Common Territories', that means land that isn't a wildlife reserve or an exclusion zone. And believe me when I say this, there's a massive wildlife reserve plus exclusion zose around Clawtooth."

It seemed to raise more questions than answers, the known world? How large was that? What about the wildlife reserves, if an entire life is spent in one, then what does that mean about the outside? Why is there an exclusion zone around Clawtooth in the first place? "Don't worry kid, if you have any further questions, I'm here to answer them."

 _About 5 hours later..._

After long passing river mouth, having to wade through it, and having a quick drink at a medium sized lake, Buck was still asking questions. All this new information about whole communities of dinosaurs living and co-operating together as one, about lands so far away they could be told as legend, about places where fountains of water and rock amaze thousands, all of it was so new to Buck that his imagination ran wild. They had come to a point where the mountains to their right felt close, but also far too. A small river, about 120 feet (37 meters) wide, had now blocked their path.

"I think it's time to get time shut eye, been talking all day y'know. We have a big day ahead of ourselves."

"How can you tell that it's night time?"

"The birds, they're quiet. It's getting cold too. Here, just lay by me. It's better to huddle in the cold than to sit alone." Things felt, comfortable, and not just literally comfortable. For Buck, Russel seemed more like his father than he knew before. "You promise to stay with me?" Buck asked. "I see what you mean, sure. Make that an Apaton Promise. Now, it's time for you to rest." Buck let out a pleasing smile, "Good night Russel." Buck said, yawning straight after. Chuckling slightly, Russel replied back. "Good night, Buck." Before lowering his head to the ground for some rest.

* * *

 ** _Audio Message #3: Subject Member #5: Member #5, also known as Buck, has made a peculiar, and powerful ally along his 96 Mile (155 Km) journey for now. I would advise my associate to take notes on this Russel guy. In the meantime, likelyhood of making it back to Clawtooth Mountain are now highly likely until further notice. End of Message.  
_**

* * *

 **A/N: Hey guys, sorry for posting this late, although not as late as the last chapter. To make up for it though I plan to release another chapter before the weekend (just to keep the chapter number even by the end of the week). In the meantime, I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and the story so far. I'll see you in the next chapter.  
**

 **Next chapter: You see foe, I see friend  
**

 **Fun Facts: N/A  
**


	12. Page 12 - You see Foe, I see Friend

**Location: 41°34'09.78"S. 73°43'18.14"W.**

 **Time since asteroid mpact: 2 weeks 2 days**

* * *

With all his might, Henry lifted his body from the ground in an attempt to stand, at times using his own neck and head as a support. No sooner her got up, he almost toppled over to his side, albeit with quick thnking he saved himself. It didn't take long before he was aware of the cause; his front left foor has been badly injured somehow. His attention sharply turned from his injuries onto his surroundings; a dark, sandy beach with crashing waves nearby, resting next to a large area of trees and grass- At least, that's what it was supposed to be. Instead, Henry's eyes layed before stripped, burnt trees spiking over the oxygen-deprived grass.

"What ever happened to our home, seems to have happened here." Henry muttered to himself as he trudged out of the beach and into the dead forest, only to find a pair of tracks going in the same direction he was. Curiosity dared him to follow them but was unsure if they should be trusted. Eventually, and not surprisingly, curiosity became the dominant forced and dragged him in the direction of the tracks. Each tree looked like it was made of dust, and they fell over no matter how hard, or light, he bumped into them. **  
**

Investigating the tracks, each footprint were small, less than a fith the sizr of Henry's feet. They also consisted of a main print with 5 smaller prints in front, and to make things even harder to understand there seemed to be two types of footprint; as if this animal could change how many legs it could walk on. It had now been 2 miles before he came across a large inlet, the tracks going straight into it. With his foot still injured and the chance of it stinging in water, he set out to go around the whole inlet before he came across the same tracks. What was at the end of these tracks was a question Henry could not answer as the burnt forrests only grew more dense. For the next 50 miles or so, the tracks grew fresher and fresher, a sign that whoever this was wasn't walking as fast as Henry could.

And then...

The tracks finally stopped, with Henry staring down at the one who layed them down.

"A CRITTER?!" Henry shouted, much too annoyed as to his curiosity leading him to something he presumed as a waste of time. "OUT OF ALL THE THINGS IT HAD TO BE A CRITTER!" Normally, his annoyance wouldn't lead him to being this mad, but being in a place unfamilair, and the extra worry of where the other family members were, it was not a good time for him at all. After his small fit, he looked down expecting the critter to have scurried away, instead it stood there on all fours. It took him a while, but eventually Henry recognised who this cirtter was. In a deep and explosive voice, Henry simply spoke "You." Before stomping closer to the critter.

By the time Henry lowered his head, the critter still didn't move, obviously not fearful of him not matter what Henry did. It was almost as if this critter considered him to be a friend. "The last thing I want to be with is you, you know?" The critter of course did not respond, and instead tilted it's head in confusion. "Nevermind. I still hate you though." Still nothing. "I'm just talking to myself aren't I?"

Looking up, the sky had dulled down, darkening the land. It was possibly night time now, and a good sleep would have to be needed. All he could hope was that this critter would go away.

* * *

The darkness one is exposed to when closing their eyes dramatically changed into a red-ish glow, as if all of a sudden they were looking directly at the sun with their eyes closed. Opening them, Henry found himself in a location one would not expect at all.

Home.

"What the?!" Henry exclaimed, this had to be a dream. It just had to be. For starters, the mountain was it's usual self. And the farm, the farm was nothing like it was back home. Not only were there more than two fields, but each one had a different plant. For instance, one was purely for growing corn, while another was almost filled with plants that gre red berries. There were other kinds of fields, and with the amount at their disposal, one could feed an entire family all year round without worry of storage. In fact it was enough so as not to worry of any intruders that may steal some.

There was one thing however that made it seem different from a dream come true, the fact there was not one homestead building, but rather three. And looking beyond where the normal territory borders would have been, a herd of longhorns were casually grazing on the long, thick grass that layed underneath them. Who would bring longhorns to this place was something Henry couldn't answer for now.

"Henry? Why are you here so early? You should be on your trip with Arlo and your friends!" A voice came from one of the larger homesteads, with only Ida exiting. "Seriously, did you just leave them behind or something?" By now, Henry was more than confused. "What? I have no idea what you mean, I'm honestly confused as to why you're not happy about us being back home. There was this whole thing with the cataclysmic event that destroyed our home and the mountains and we were swept away. Do you not remember that? And where's Buck, Libby and Verena?" Upon this, Libby and Buck came out of the homestead.

"Who's Verena, is she a friend?" Libby asked. "No she's by daught- something's not right here. Ida, what did you say I was doing last?"

"As I said before, you were out on a trip with Arlo, Ben and Arlie, searching for more food and trying to explain that riddle you meantioed a couple days ago." Something was definitely wrong with this dream, if it was a dream. Ida continued. "And what about you, what was the last thing you knew?"

"Last thing I knew I went off to sleep after confronting a small critter, didn't like him at all." Henry explained. "Critter? Like Spot?" Buck asked, "Who's Spo-" From nowhere, the same critter Henry faced earlier scampered to him. "That's Spot.", "I don't like him." Henry said flatly. Something then clicked inside. "What if... I'm not the Henry you're thinking of, like your Henry is still on his trip and all, but for some reason I'm here. To be honest, I'm just as confused as you guys are."

Suddenly, three tyrannosaurs came out from the largest homestead, they seemed to look like their own family. "Henry, what are 'ya doin' here so early? Aren't 'ya supposed to be outta here with your friends an' all?" Butch questioned. "Henry, this is Butch, along with Ramsey and Nash.", "And why are 'ya telling 'im our names, he already knows who we are.", "Not this Henry, we're still confused, but it appears there's been a mixu- wait Henry, you said you went to sleep right?" With Henry nodding, she continued. "Then maybe waking up will get you out of here."

"I mean, I have so many questions to ask about you guys and this place. But you're right, can't stay here for too long." And with that, Henry did his best to wake up. After what seemed like moments, something happened. "Henry your feet!", "Ye I know, it's just a bruise", "No seriously, look at your feet!" As Henry did so, he found that they were no longer there, replaced with dust that had started to float. As the thest of Henry's body started to disintegrate, he could only hope that the other side was somewhere normal.

* * *

Opening his eyes, Henry felt both excited and disheartened that he was back to the same dead forest he went to sleep in, only this time there was some weight on Henry's back. "Oh, it's you. You slept _on_ me? Why would you- wait, where am I?" It had just occured to him that while he was still in a dead forest, the landscape looked different. He soon came to the conclusion that he actually walked some 70 or so miles NNE in his sleep, and this critter was forced to ride on his back so as to not loose him.

There was so much doubt as to whether or not what he experienced before was indeed a dream or not. But then he remembered something; the name of the critter was 'Spot', perhaps if he called out that name, the critter next to him might respond. If he did, that would mean it wasn't just a simple dream, and if he didn't, then it was. The amount of ridiculousness this would be was almost too much, but there was no point stalling. "Spot." Almost instantly the tiny critter faced the large apatosaur, in fact it was so quick it was startling. Obviously this raised so many questions about the dream he had, but one of the main thoughts that came through was this:

If the world Henry went to was in fact not a dream, how and why did Henry go there?

Feeling defeated, he had no patience left for Spot. "Okay fine, you can tag along. Just, don't be a nuisance."

* * *

 ** _Audio Message #4: Subject Member #3: Member #3, also known as Henry has made a rather odd journey of 130 miles (209 Km) over not just a day, but also a night too. Perhaps this might be an advantage for him getting home, as being able to walk both in day and night without loosing rest will half the time for him to get back home. No idea if this sleep-walking condition is new or if he's had it for some time, but I have high hopes for him. Likelyhood of survival however is average, as there might be some risk to this condition during the night. My advice, though I am unable to directly communicate with Henry, would be to make friends with the critter, might help him in the long run. End of Message.  
_**

* * *

 **A/N: I'll be honest, wasn't expecting it to be like this. Not the content in the chapter, I mean that I actually thought I could to three chapters in one weekend. Am I pushing myself too far? I'm not even sure myself at this point. And I'm starting to believe that pushing myself like this is hurting both the content and the plot of the story. Sorry if it's starting to get confusing and all, might make something to tie all the loose ends. In regards to all this, the next two chapters will have to be delayed until next weekend (inb4 I only get one chapter done on the weekend).  
**

 **In the meantime, I hope you have enjoyed the chapter, and the story so far!**

 **Next chapter: Hide and Seek  
**

 **Fun Facts: Yes, there's a bunch of references to "Henry's Long Adventure" in the dream sequence, but the setting doesn't feel right does it? It's almost as if it takes place after that story...  
**


	13. Page 13 - Hide and Seek

**Location: 36°42'24.25"N. 121°16'44.45"E.**

 **Time since asteroid mpact: 4 weeks 1 day**

* * *

The chilling sensation around her body, once so strong that she passed out form shock, had now smoldered into a sensation that felt like the norm. Although what had felt like 5 minutes for Verena, and how it felt like there were no currents dragging her anywhere, she was oblivious to the fact that she had already gone into the main ocean currents, and had travelled thousands of miles away from home. Eventually, the cold, crisp tingle promptly ended, replaced only by a coarse, warm touch. Once this sensation had lasted about a minute, a wave of the same chill came through, before fading away again.

How she managed to feel this without actually being concious was an unanswerable question. By the time she woke up, the air had gone cold, and the sea had moved over 300 feet (100 meters) away. Although shaken from the overall loss of heat, she ventured inland to the nearby forest, where the trees, though leaned at an angle, still had their branches and leaves attached. For some odd reason, each tree was so hot that it was almost unbearable, whether that was because of how cold Verena was or if the trees had been heated up, or maybe even both, she couldn't currently answer. All around her, the air also felt warm; like a summer's day, except it was now possibly night time in what should now be the start of winter.

Treading through the blackened forest, bumping into several trees were a common occurance due to how low the light was; the clouds made it diffcult for any light from the stars and moon to shine down upon the landscape. Fortunately, a clearing in the sky soon came, and had made things easier for her to see things a lot-

She froze instantaneously, as before her laid two adult dinosaurs, both carnivorous-looking. And she was right, what she had encountered were two adult Saits, large 39 ft (11.9 m) long carnivores similar to that of the tyrannosaurs. Under the moonlight, she could make out their pinkish-snouts, with the rest of their bodies covered in wood-coloured fur, for warmth most likely. Though they were indeed resting, the direction of the wind had made it possible for them to smell her. In a slient panic, fearing that they would soon wake up, she causiously backed away from the pair. As they were still sleeping, the smell alone wouldn't be enough. She had noticed that if she made any sound, then the cances of them waking up would increase tenfold. All she had to do was get far enough away... slowly... quietly...

SNAP!

A medium sized branch had split in half under her weight, the sound echoing off in the distance. Immediately she could hear one of them stiring up, getting louder and louder. There was no point in hoping that they would go back to sleep, so in a quick move she hid herself behind a large bush, and hopefully by looking at the surroundings, then she could make a get-away once the light faded behind the clouds again. For now, all she could do is listen, and hope for the best. The first to wake up erupted a loud yawn, before getting up. His voice was deeper than Verena would think he would have, and contained a slight western accent when he eventually spoke. Soon after, the other woke up, more with a sigh of annoyance, her voice wasn't perky but had that slight ring to it, whilst containing a thicker accent.

"Why'd you get up this early ey?" The tiredness in their voices were obviously noticable.

"Augh, I heard a sound Kichi."

"'Tis prolly just a rodent of some kind."

"No-no, it was something larger than'a rodent. Could smell it" He sniffed up into the air, before continuing. "Can still smell it near."

"Come 'n Masahiro, we've got a big day tomorrow finding some helpless folk an' I don't wanna be ratty for that."

"They're probably hiding somewhere, perhaps that bush there in the dark."

"I can't see anything there."

"I know there's someone there."

"Eh, not as far as I'm aware." Verena could then hear a couple of footsteps, most likely this Masahiro guy turning around.

"Why don't you believe me?" Sighing heavily, and pausing, before saying "Maybe you're right."

"It's just another night, these things always happen."

"But I heard a snap!" Thinking they were distracted, Verena decided to make a move anyways, still walking slowly.

"Just go back to sleep."

"I guess I'm always quick to rage."

"For the last time go back to-" Another snap, Verena was paying too much attention of what the two were saying to mind the other branches.

"Wait, now I hear it!" Verena froze, looking to the two staring in random directions. "Who's there? I know someone's there... hiding in the shadows, thinking I was unaware." By now they had just spotted Verena's presence. "Who's that I see?" Upon hearing that, she immediately made a run for it. Hoping they weren't fast enough to know where she had gone. After a good moment or two of changing directions, she hid right next to another bush, this one much larger than the last.

Catching her breath, she made sure not to be too loud. However it seemed to be in vein, looking up, she could see that one of them had indeed found her, and of couse it would be the male. "I knew I was right, to think I would find you over here. It's a bit intruiging that you seem to be just a little bit weary of Kichi and me. Well there's no need." As he said that, his partner walked from behind and stopped by his side. "You think we're gonna eat you right? Everyone gets that feeling when we first meet them. Don't worry, we're not here to do that."

Feeling kind of relieved, Verena apologised for waking them up. "Oh no worries, it happens sometimes, we get a bit quirky at night cause of how there's usually some poor soul that sees us and runs away into the unknown, we'd never seem them after that. I'm-"

"Kichi, I know. Heard you two talk while hiding. I'm Verena by the way. Quick question, what did you mean by 'finding some helpless folk'?"

Mashahiro replied "Oh that? We're part of a search and rescue team, finding those that have lost their way after the uh... unfortunate events that have happened about four or so weeks ago." Verena instantly froze once again. "Four weeks? I've been out in the sea for four weeks?! I thought it wa sjust five minutes..." Both Mashahiro and Kichi glanced at eachother in a worrying expression, before returning their attention to the small Apatosaur. "Verena, where is it that you come from, if we may ask?" Mashahiro asked.

Trying her best to relax, she responded with "C-c-c-Clawtooth Mountain...? Why?" The conversation paused suddenly, and remained that way for a moment. Kichi was the first to break the silence by explaining. "Verena, Clawtooth Mountain is... a far far way from here. Too far for you to walk to by your self, Masahiro, do you think you can carry Verena? She'll need to be brought to Oykot as soon as possible, by the looks of it she's gonna die from hypothermia if she isn't warmed up soon."

"And what about you Kichi?" Masahiro asked. "I'll have'a rest some more before finding more like Verena, and then I'll bring them back too. Cya soon." She said, before lifting Verena onto Masahiro's back. "And see you soon too Verena." With that, they parted.

* * *

"So how far is this 'Oykot' place anyways?" After walking about 60 miles, it was time for a conversation anyways. "Pretty far, not as far as Clawtooth Mountain though. How you managed to survive four weeks in the open sea without any preadators finding you, or any... debris, from the sky hitting you is beyond my time to comprehend. You got any family Verena?"

"Yes, two brothers, a sister, a father and mother.", "How lovely. Me and Kichi aren't part of the same family, only just got together for about 3 weeks. Ever since that catastrophe has happened, Oykot has been under severe repairs, nearly all the homes there have collapsed- many casulties of course. Just hoping that things get back to normal as soon as possible. Alright, into the marshes we go."

"Can't we go around the marshes?"

"That would mean an extra day or two of walking, and I think both of us know it's more beneficial to go through this than to walk an extra day. Correct?"

"Mhmm." Verena agreed, before resting once more. By the time she woke up, the sun had already risen above the horizon. "It's day already?", "Yep. I don't think I need to carry you all the way, do I?" Verena hopped off of Masahiro's back, stumbling a bit before standing up straight. Walking was a bit hard to come by at first, but got used to it fairly qiuckly. "How far have we walked?". "You mean how far I've walked? And about ninety-five miles. You ready?"

With literally no other choice, Verena simiply nodded. As from there on, , they walked.

* * *

 ** _Audio Message #5: Subject Member #2: Member #2, also known as Verena, has obtained a rather helpful fella; someone who can help her out whenever she's in trouble. Her odds of survival are miraculously high for now, and with their current destination being Oykot, things'll hopefully only get better for Verena. End of Message.  
_**

* * *

 **A/N: Ye ye I know I missed a weekend, forgot all about that 'till yesterday! Welp, here's another odd chapter I guess. For those who couldn't tell, I've wanted to make the world outside the homestead area alienated on purpose, having bizzare things such as multi-species-communities and such. Thing'll get a bit wierder next chapter when Arlo needs help (it's been sometimes since that name's been mentioned right?). Hopefully you've enjoyed the chapter, and the story so far. See you then!  
**

 **Next chapter: Raging Inferno  
**

 **Fun Facts: Kichi and Masahiro are indeed Japanese names. And Oykot is literally Tokyo backwards. If you've bene paying attention to the co-ordinates at the top you would get an idea of where they're at currently. And yes, by "Marshes", Masahiro and Verena literally went across the Bohai sea to modern day Dalian. The current thing with the story is that the sea level is slightly lower than before, which is why the "sea" is a marsh field instead.  
**


	14. Page 14 - Raging Inferno

**Location: 18°29'00.36"N. 122°08'53.68"E.**

 **Time since asteroid impact: 4 weeks 2 days**

* * *

With the same feeling for Arlo as Verena experienced, Arlo slowly woke up to the cold bumpy pebbles that surrounded the lower half of his field of view. Above them layed only darkness; the light from the sun had now been blocked by thick cloud cover. A chill went through him as he got up, things were too dark to even see the things right next to him. One of the only things he could depict was the boundary between objects and sky, everything else was a silouhette for him. There was however, one thing he could rely on: the sound of the waves next to him let him know where the coast was, and since most of the coast he saw was made of similar-sized stones, it would be easier just keeping to the coast, which he did.

A flash from his left hand side went as soon as it came, revealing more of the landscape than he did laying down. Nearby trees tht could potentially have food on them. Every now and then, the flashes from the left gave him more info as to where on the coast and how close to the trees he was. Just before he got to the trees however, a faint glow from afar caught his attention, and since he was taller than msot of the nearby trees it wasn't hard to see how far away it was; quite far whilst also being close enough to make out if it was moving closer or not.

Good thing about the glow was that it provided minimal light, but enough for Arlo to see more than just silouhettes of large objects. Each flash that came afterward though showed more than just the landscape. Infront of the mountains afar stood a massive column of cloud that looked to be changing shape. A faint sound, getting louder with each passing second, could be hard in the direction of the column- which started to move closer to the faint orangle glow. Now very weary of the potential danger, he kept one eye on it whilst eating the fruit that indeed was hanging from said trees.

An enourmous, rumbling roar emminated from the direction Arlo was keeping an eye out for, and rising up came a ferocious wall of deep orange flames. Originating from a probably forest fire, the column of clouds seemed to collect the flames and grew stronger. Worst thing was, the heat could be felt all they way from where he was, that and the fact this new powerful fire whirl was enraging closer and closer. At that moment, he instantly dashed to his right, running as fast as he possibly could, doing his best to keep his breath under control to keep the pace up.

"Hey, slow down!" A voice from Arlo's current left voiced, however Arlo wasn't going to let anything distract him from the oncoming fire wirl. And by the sound of it, it wasn't long before the voice soon realised what Arlo was running away from. "Nevermind, keep up the pace, I'll catch up!" Feminine of course, but not an adult's, it was more juvenile- older than Arlo but definitely not an adult. As Arlo continued to run, footsteps from behind creeped up to his point, and right beside him another Apatosaur had been catching up. This was probably the voice he heard earlier, however two things stood out; first, it wasn't any member of his family, and second she had an enormous bulk of... something, on her back which seemed to be fastened all round her, and the back were her tail was had been straped to what looked to be make-shift tail feathers.

What ever they were, she soon noticed Arlo glancing at the thing on her. "Oh don't worry about that, only for extreme emergencies." An ironic statement, seeing as the two were already in a- "Isn't this right now an extreme emergency?" Arlo said over a period of time, taking deep breaths between each word. "As of now no but I think we're close to one. Quickly, follow my lead!" She said, soon out-pacing Arlo for a moment before returning to the same speed. Instead of going nearer to the coast; where the trees were less dense, they moved inward, toward a high mountain range where a bright orange light could be seen.

As they scaled up the steep slopes, their speed had now been limited enough for the fire whirl to slowly close in on them. By the time they got to the rim, the whirl had already gotten close enough to feel the heat again. "Quick, get into this!" Pulling something, the object on her back extended to the left, creating a place for Arlo to fit into. As he got in, she said "Okay, now once you're fully in, I'm going to need you to put all your trust in me." Only then, when Arlo had finished getting himself into this... thing of hers, did he have the time to see what was truely in front of them: a large crater, in the middle filled a bubbling mass of molten rock, and slowly rising to the top.

"I-I-I can't do this!" Arlo for a moment forgot he was **fastened** in, and tried to run backwards. "Please... I need you to trust me... Either we jump, or you face that!" She said, obviously referring to the approaching fire whirl. Arlo mentally and almost physically gulped in fear, before eventually responding with a fast nod. "Okay, when I say 'go' you put your back legs on those pedals there, and immediately after that put your front legs on those bars in front of you. On, three, we run alright? One... Two... THREE!"

Arlo ran toward the edge of the rim, and did what he was told when she said 'go'. They slowly fell toward the molten rock, before a large force seemed to pull them back up. Looking on the sides he noticed, and realised, the true purpose of this thing he was fastened to. Large, flat wings extended far from where they were, and would slowly move up and down. "Um, you're meant to _move_ the pedals like I am?" She said. Arlo observed how she moved her pedals, and prceeded to do the same on his. Together, they could rise up faster than ever. "See, now you're getting the hang of it! We must be over three miles above the sea already, must've been the warm updraft from that volcano, but just look!"

When he looked down, he could see the top of the... volcano slowly shrinking, as soon as some grey clouds started to build from the center of the crater, Arlo's savior mentioned "Oh, better start moving, you don't want those types of ash reaching us." And immediately they started to move forward, out into the open sea. While it seemed normal for the lass, Arlo could barely handle being up this high, and felt extremely light-headed. For a brief moment Arlo slowed down, making the whole device turn to the left slightly before adjusting back. "Are you okay there?" Arlo heard, before passing out from internal shock.

* * *

Squinting his eyes, Arlo regained conciousness. "Oh thank goodness you're all right. I thought you were gonna be out for much longer, I see you're not a fan of heights, so I lowered us down to a hopefully more comfortable altitude." In responce, Arlo sighed out "T-t-thanks... uuuuuh..."

"Oh that reminds me! My name's Ivy, Ivy Notapa. How about you?" Ivy said in a very upbeat-tone. "Uuuh, it's Arlo."

"Just Arlo. You don't have a last name? Ah well, it doesn't matter too much." She said as they were passing over a nearby island. "Anyways, care to tell where you're from?"

"Uuuh, Clawtooth Mountain?" Arlo asked slowly, Ivy almost jumped at the name and nearly lost control. "Sorry about that, haven't heard that name in a while. You live there? But that's a- nevermind, there's probably some explanation as to how that's possible. But for now, lets take you back to my home city. Pretty far from where we are, had to come over here to make sure everyone had alreayd left but by the makes of it I came just in time for you to be saved too. Hang on, that would mean you've- how did you manage to survive in the open ocean for four weeks!?"

"Uuuuh, what?", "You heard me. Unless you weren't concious during that time. In that case, sorry to break the news but it's been over four weeks since that... event, happened. You probably know the one since you were much closer than were we were in Oykot."

For a moment, Arlo remained confused about certain things. "Oykot?", "You don't know about Oykot. I could tell you it's history while we're on our way."

* * *

...

After a few hours, the light above the clouds had started to fade. Ivy had just finished up on the history of her hometown when she felt the winged-device turn to the left for a moment. Glancing at Arlo, she could see that all the talk and going through the air had made him so tired that he was already nodding off to sleep whilst doing his best to keep the pedals behind moving. "Oh, well I guess this is probably your first flight, so congrats on making it this far." She quietly said, mostly to herself, before swtiching changing the controls so that she had all the control. That way, Arlo wouldn't affect the flight if he didn't do anything. No sooner did she change the controls, Arlo's legs had let go of both the pedals and bars, and were now dangling in mid-air. Fortunately this didn't mean he would fall, as she had already been fastened in under his belly by thick vines.

Seeing as there wasn't going to be much light for the night, she looked for the nearest flat peice of land that wasn't surrounded by mountains on the island soon approaching, before making a slow decent. Shoving Arlo before they landed, he had enough time to know they were landing, and brace for it. A hard landing it was, but nothing more than a rough scrape on some of their legs. "Not there yet, we're gonna have to sleep the night away before we can continue." She said. If the clouds weren't blocking the sky, there was a chance that the moon could provide such light for easy travel, but as this wasn't the case they had no other option.

* * *

 ** _Audio Message #6: Subject Member #1: Member #1, also known as Arlo, has travelled an astonishing 513 Km (319 Miles), most of which in mid-air. Thanks to his new companion, his likelyhood of survival is almost certain for now. This companion seems to know a lot about various land features along with a range of hazards, such as volcanoes, ash, and some knowledge of Clawtooth Mountain. Whether said knowledge will eventually be disclosed with Arlo remains uncertain. However, as their current destination is the same as Verena's, it is likely that the two will find each other and find their way home eventually, for now, I can only hope that they make it to their destinations. End of Message.  
_**

* * *

 **A/N: A day late seems like nothing compared to being weeks huh? Ye ye I'm still late, but I thought it was about time I finished something within a small range of time. Hope you liked the chapter, and the story so far, and I'll see you in the next one!  
**

 **Next chapter: March of the Desert Queens  
**

 **Fun Facts: Surprisignly, N/A  
**


	15. Page 15 - March of the Desert Queens

**Location: 22°52'50.40"N. 69°32'02.90"E.**

 **Time since asteroid impact: 3 weeks 5 days**

* * *

An eerie vibe of emptyness filled Ida and Libby when they woke up. A rock-coloured sky had been drawn out over the night, creating a phenomena where the light felt of a mid-summer evening, no matter what time of day it was. This had made them ponder how long they had slept for, albeit the thought lasting a mere moment of time. Features that were once distinguishable on the day prior had now blurred, with merely the line between land and sky being the main terminator. A gust of wind blew around a thin sheet of sand, which soon fell to the desaturated ground, and the howels of the wind spoke with no soul. It was as if everything in the world had suddenly become void of life, and they were there to whitness it all.

Every now and then, a chill went down the long spines of the two apatosaurs, their tails moving slowly. Of the two, Ida observed all around in a slow 360 degree move, looking for anywhere to walk out of the vast deset. Finally, she had spotted a place that may be what they were looking for. "Come Libby, for we must venture on." Her voice was quiet and soft, but maintained the properties of an order.

"Will we find the others?" Libby said from behind, her voice becoming feeble an blue. Ida stood still before, over the course of a few seconds, turned around and hugged Libby with her tail. With a sterner voice, she spoke once more, "Don't worry Libby, we'll find them.", nudging Libby slightly so that they could start their daily stride, they ambled down the lonesome hill they had slumbered on. There was this thing that would happen where you remember a place, and knowing it would be the last you'd see of it. Both Ida and Libby felt this way as they directed away from the hill.

No change in the light could be observed as they plowed through the desert, with every step they took displacing the sand underneath. It would be about a few hours before the incline of the ground became noticable, and with time the mountains that lay before them grew larger. Both Ida and Libby were too focused on home, their family, all the personal things, to speak to each other. By the time they got up and around the rugged terrain, a small platau of powdered-sand was there to meet them. The ground hardened on a small decline down the mountain- about a hundered meters.

Eventually, the light had finally started to dim down. After walking on a couple hundred kilometers of sand, rock, ups and downs, they were both too tired to carry on. On a small, dark-brown hill, Libby was almost limping, every now-and-then she would fall asleep while subccounciously walking. However even then it would only last a moment, before she collapsed onto the floor in tiredness. The unexpected thumpalerted Ida as she swung round swiftly. "Libby!" She wailed, before quickly realising why Libby had fallen. There wasn't much else Ida could do, so instead of continuing on with Libby on her back, Ida decided to rest around Libby. Hopefully, the next day would be more interesting.

* * *

Ida bolted up as the ground began to tremble, was there a large creature approaching? Or was something similar to the event at Clawtooth about to happen again? Libby seemed un-phased by the suddent shaking, still sleeping out the exhastion from yesterday. With no time to spare Ida used her tail to bring the small apatosaur onto her back, before reaching the top of the hill. All around the lose rocks and foliage were waving around, the ground truly was shaking on it's own.

However, contrast to Clawtooth the shaking soon died down to nothing, and everything had returned to its usual state as if nothing had ever happened. It was almost as if nature had decided to shake just so Ida would wake. Once again, the clouds filled the sky, perhaps darker than yesterday though hard to tell. Two things were different though, the once grey clouds had turned to a desaturated yellow colour, and the temperature was noticably colder than usual. As Ida began to stride, the silent groan from Libby soon sounded. "Wake up Libby, it's time to wander." Ida spoke softly.

Libby however wasn't amused, to say the least "Is Clawtooth really far away?" she moaned in annoyance. The question soon sank, how far were they really, and how long would it take to get back? Weeks, months, maybe even years? The mere thought of not seeing the rest of their family for years was chilling enough to get them to continue walking once more. Time for Libby and Ida became irrelevant, with only days being remotely measurable. Along with time, their eyes had to adjust for the darkened environment in order to have knowledge on at least how far into the day they were. Who knows, maybe they had already slept through most of the day, there was no way to tell apart from the time it would be before the sky would darken.

"Hey, is that a lake I see?" Libby soon dashed out of Ida's reach, fresh water was a necessity they hadn't seen in days, and it wouldn't be long before they would feel it. It seemed as if Libby had completely lost it, and perhaps the effects of dehydration had already taken over her. But if Libby could see a lake, all Ida would need to do is raise her neck and see for herself. There was just one problem; having her head too high means that her heart would have to use more energy to get the blood to her head. Usually this wouldn't be a problem, but under these conditions where they were most likely kilometers above sea level, it was vastly different.

She lifted her head only slightly and already the lake that was before them had taken shape, it wasn't too far away either, and consisted of a light blue colour. It was the one time she would strain her body in order to out pace Libby, and had made it to the lake before. Once Libby had cought up, they drank the salty water and-

"SALT WATER?!" Both Libby and Ida spat out the water, the distinguishable taste stonger than anything they could've imagined. It quickly came to them that since they were in a desert, these lakes would msot likely dry up at times, leaving only salt for the next lake to fill into. If there was one thought they had, it would be the need to get out of the desert. There was however, one thing, that layed on the horizon: a small set of mountains containing colours unlike those that were in the desert. It may just be more desert, but something is better than nothing. And with that they made way for the mountains.

Another lonesome hill, taller than the one before, had come into view. The day appeared to be coming to a close, though Ida was determined to find the edge of the desert before nightfall. Looking from the hill Ida could see two sets of mountains, both with white caps on the top. They weren't anything like Clawtooth but were enough for them to make way. Finally, once the last hill was gone from view, the extreme terrain of the mountains could be seen in full display, and below lay fourth a river valley that went downhill.

Slipping every now and then down the river valley, the sound of the rushing water was soothing despite it's chaos. As the ground on either side became steeper, it seemed like the valley was closing in on them. A cool breeze rushed in from down-river, a clear sign that a new environment was on the other side of the valley. Twists and turns were frequent, and a secondary river joined up from another valley, though it was obvious that going downhill would be better off. This happened several times, indicating that they were a part of a river fork, leading up to a main river system. Soon, one of the ice-capped mountains stood before them, unlike they grey rock Clawtooth possessed this had brown rock, almost grass-like. If there was grass up here, what was on the other end?

All these thoughts rushed by them as they continued down. It wasn't long after they went by the mountain did they see smaller mountains on either side covered in grass and trees. This was a big surprise to Ida especially, the event had burnt everything over at Clawtooth, how did this area stay untouched? As the slope became horizontal, the hills became greener and greener, with the rock being completely covered by dirt, grass and foliage. The river by now was the size of the one they'd known at their home, and rushed down than they could ever walk, but the river banks were starting to get too dense with trees for them to walk side-by-side, and had to walk in a single-file pattern.

The valley quickly opened up to a vast plataeu, cooler than the desert that they would forget in a heartbeat. Walking into the middle, where the river split into two, there was no where to know which way to go, and the setting sun marked the end of another day. "Let us sleep here Libby, then we can worry about where to go tomorrow." Soft as ever, and once again, Libby and Ida layed rest, for whatever tomorrow had to offer.

* * *

 ** _Audio Message #7: Subject Member #4+6: Members 4 and 6, aka Ida and Libby respectively, has travelled an astonishing 1,100 Km (684 Miles), across the vast desert despite all odds. While both are in perfect condition, fresh water will need to be aquired soon, as dehydration seems to have already taken effect to especially Libby. Fortunately, being in a forested area has it's perks, and fresh water may still be found nearby. Odds of survival have fallen, but still high._**

 _ **New survival scale: From 1-5, where 5 is perfect condition and 1 is near-death (0 being dead of course). Members 4 and 6 are at 3 and 4 respectfully. Note that the survival scale takes both physical and mental health into condition. Other factors such as access to water/food supply and shelter are also taken to account.**_

 _ **End of message.**_

* * *

 **A/N: Ye ye, I know. Exams are getting close with only a few weeks left, and will last probably until mid-June. This weekend will be the last time I upload any more chapters until the exams are over. This chapter does go over quite a few details, however writing anymore about a _desert_ will probably make me go insane, I don't think I can make the desert seem interesting without spending the whole day wondering what descriptive words to place into.  
**

 **Next chapter: March of the Desert Queens  
**

 **Fun Facts: N/A  
**


	16. Page 16 - Through the Fire and Flames

**Location: 4°55'24.09"S. 80°26'11.65"W.**

 **Time since asteroid impact: 2 weeks 4 days  
**

* * *

The sky was much darker than before, even the middle of the day felt more like the evening at times. While there were patches that broke the usual cloud layer, they were sparce, and short-lived. These holes allowed those below to still be able to see clearly the landscape in front. For Buck and Russel, this was perfect for making their journey north to what Russel called the badlands; an area created by the recent catastrophe that compiles of ash-filled plains and entire forests on fire. Russel also made note that the nature of the wind allowed the badlands to grow, reaching towards the south, and could easily make it to the Sobel Forest **(Note: Amazon Rainforest)** and cause devastating effects in the long run.

"Sounds terrible, is there anything we could do to stop it?" Buck asked, hoping that there could be at least some good in all this bad. To his fears though, Russel shook his head, "Us two alone can't. In fact, it would take millions to clear out something that vast. We'd probably need everyone of Oykot, if they weren't involved with their own thing."

"Oykot?"

"You've never heard of it? Oykot is a massive city across the vast ocean, everyone is told about it after the age of- wait how old are you Buck?"

Although it came out of the blue, it didn't take long for Buck to answer. "Eleven, I'm eleven. Why'd you ask, Russel?"

"Figures, everyone is usually told about it at the age of eighteen. You know, I could teach you a lot about the things that not many at your age would know." That made him stop completely. Buck for a time didn't know how to respond to that sort of statement, until Russel continued, "You alright there lad?"

"Yes, what exactly would you know that I don't?"

"Buck don't test me on that. I know enough about these lands to get you back to your home. If it wasn't for me you wouldn't even make it past the borders."

Perplexed, Buck questioned the last statement. "Borders?"

"You really don't know do you? There are borders north from here that we have to cross in order to get to Clawtooth Mountain."

"Why not just go around?"

"The border goes right across the land, Buck."

"Then swim around."

"Can't do that either, they make sure that only with special requirements should one be allowed to cross the borders, if you make it through the southern border and afterwards something else is found out about you, they stop you at the northern border, which is why they have two borders. If we are to make it through both of them, then we should probably not mention Clawtooth Mountain."

"Wait what? Why not?"

"Because- ah why am I even telling you this- you should know this part about Clawtooth already, you lived there according to what you said." Before Buck could respond however, Russel had tripped over a large rock sat out in the middle of the path. Buck rolled his eyes over how much Russel had himself distracted from simply looking forward before it was too late, but nonetheless did what he could to help Russel get back to his usual standing position.

"Thanks buddy." Russel simply said, a small hint of a smile being noticed by Buck. "No problem, Russel." Noticing the setting sun already passing, they both decided that their long walk needed a break. And so they rested for the night...

* * *

 _Later that night..._

"Pssst, Buck. Wake up." A soft voice emerged from the quietness, a sense of noise started to form. "Mm? What is it papa?" Buck instinctively spoke, before a second later realising what he just said. Jumping up into consiousness, the first thing to notice was the amount of orange all around, _"This wasn't here before, right?"_ Buck thought to himself as his vision got clearer. What was a blur of variant orange cleared up to a massive amount of towering flames about three times as high as the trees they were feeding off of.

Seeing Russel right beside him made Buck question how long he had been oblivious to the fire. "I've been trying to wake you up for a good few moments Buck! Now lets get moving!" Russel rushed Buck up as they both went in opposite directions. For Buck, moving away from the flames as the safest option, however he soon realised the reasoning behind Russel's decision; while running towards the flames was dangerous, the wildfire would push them south, and away from Clawtooth Mountain. Not too soon were they both running alongside, right through the fire and flames finding gaps- as if going through a maze but the walls were that of intense fire and heat.

Without warning Buck tripped over himself, falling onto his face, while Russel continued on for a couple of seconds before turning back to see the state his new companion was in. Rushing over to his side, a nearby tree on fire fell onto Russel's back, instead fo Buck. Brushing it off, he lifted Buck onto his back, before continuing to run. As the intense got to Buck, his conciousness slowly faded, hoping that when he did come back, things would be better...

* * *

In this current state, Buck was once again unsure of what was going on. Had seconds gone by or hours? Was he okay or was he in agonising pain? Was he truely safe or was he dying? None of these questions he could answer in this state. There was a complete sense of being lost, it was torture, not knowing anything about what was going on outside, and being left to your own thoughts.

Muffled sounds from the outside slowly came more clear, along with his sight, however his whole boday still felt numb. The cracking of the flames had definitely gone, that was for sure. From that he knew they were out of the fire, and thus in safety. But the other muffled sounds could still be anything, was it Russel, or birds?

Finally, the sights were clear enough for Buck to determine what his current situation was; Russel had layed Buck down onto a clear patch of dirt after reaching the other side of the flames and heat, while Russel was trying to wake him up. "I'm okay Russel... just... give me time... to regain my senses." Buck panted, in a sudden moment he felt the need to breath in the air after realising how fresh it was- it was his body's way of trying to clear out all of the smoke. "Easy there Buck, breath in and out sloooowly, alright? In... and out... in... and out... there you go. Keep doing that and you'll be fine." Russel said, his tone was unlike his natural one, this time it felt like Russel cared about Buck as much as Henry did to Buck. It was unsettling due to how similar it was.

"Am I... all right?" Buck asked, his vision still on the verge of clearing completely.

"Don't worry Buck, you're fine." Russel continued as Buck finally saw all of the details on Russel; his back was now blackened due to the intense fires, his face littered with various-sized singes and marks from making it out alive, and a thin grace that had cut across his left side where his upper and lower jaw would be. "Russel, are _you_ okay?", "Don't worry about me Buck, I've had worse."

"You _have!?_ "

"Oh yes, but those stories are for another time Buck, not quite sure if you're ready just yet." Russel chuckled, or at least attempted to before coughing. "We should probably rest for real this time, now that the worst is over.", "Lets not tempt fate again, Buck." Russel said, only smiling this time, before they both rested.

* * *

 ** _Audio Message #8: Subject Member #5: Member 5, aka Buck, has travelled 387 miles (624 Km's) with his new friend, and while things are semi-stable between the two, it is just as likely that their relationship will grow as well as diminish, only time will tell. Using the new survival scale (0 being dead and 5 being perfectly alive), Buck's value is predicted to be a 4, as his emotional state is still quite low.  
_**

 _ **End of message.**_

* * *

 **A/N: By far this is the longest break I've had on this, I feel so bad for leaving you guys short but my personal life had just gone into a crisis, now that I'm fit for doing more chapters, I will say that my activity will be low when September arrives, as I'll be going to University for the first time (studying Geology). I don't know how things'll turn out for the rest of the year,but I plan to finish this story by the years end.  
**

 **Next chapter: Cross-Species Communication  
**

 **Fun Facts: N/A  
**


	17. Page 17 - Cross-Species Communication

**Location: 39°54'48.08"S. 72°39'06.07"W.**

 **Time since asteroid impact: 2 weeks 3 days  
**

* * *

Blue skies shrouded behind the looming clouds that had taken over throughout the past couple of weeks, as they gazed down upon those that survived the initial events. One of those individuals was none other than Henry, and his aquaintence called Spot, and while their friendship was neutral at best, Henry couldn't stand to be around Spot sometimes. I mean in all honesty if someone stole all of the food you made for your family you probably wouldn't want to be around them too either right?

The landscape had become more desaturated from the lack of holes in the white sheets above, and it seemed like it could only get worse, as nearby smoke was billowing from the horizon to the right of them- had been for hours now. Throught the journey that involved seeing these towers of blackened clouds, it was clear to Henry they whatever had caused Clawtooth to be destroyed was also responsible for these cloud features. Echos of roaring came from all directions, where they from the smoke? Or was it an actual animal?

It was a question that neither answer was uncertain, that is, until they were passing by a snow-capped-mountain that too was blasting the same smoke into the sky. Every time there was a rumble, a larger amount of smoke would come from the top. This particular mountain exploded not just smoke that went up but also smoke that went down the sides, along while throwing boulders of rock out of itself, even spewing a glowing red liquid at times. Knowing it was too dangerous to get close, the two simply went on by without daring going closer.

Not too long afterwards, the remains of a fairly large lake was spotted. Naturally, getting closer to see if there was any water left seemed the best of options. At the same time however, the violent mountain they had just passed by could've easily have sent rock into this lake, deeming it too hazardous to go to. So with that, Henry set on course to stay in the open, that way any danger that came from the mountains would be seen before they heard it, instead of the other way around.

Day and night felt more blurred this time, it was less distinct. The mountains that glowed didn't help with that in anyway, so waking further would eventually lead them to a point at which even the glow would be covered by the horizon. Big problem with that idea: by the time this was fulfilled, it was the middle of night, so the two were now left in an almsot perpetual darkness, where even the landscape was hard to distinguish from the sky above. All Henry could hope for is the next glow from the mountains.

* * *

Morning slowly passed physically, and over time it was easier to see what night had brought burden on Henry. While Spot had the perks of being small and light enough to just rest on Henry's back, Henry, caring for his family, continued on all night without resting at all. This differential between the two resulted in a one-sided argument between Henry and... well Spot couldn't exactly answer back so technically it was between Henry and a wall.

Though on the plus side, it didn't last long, seeing they Henry realised that Spot probably didn't understand a word, and possibly wouldn't care even if he did.

The new light also revealed that they had drifted closer to the mountains over night, possibly due to being guided more by the glows that every now-and-then came from them. Along with this however, came a problem. There was now a small mountain range to the left as well, and since neither Henry nor spot could tell whether these produced the glows or the smoke, they were forced to go between the two ranges. This gap between the two sets of mountains only got narrower, albeit still ranging tens of miles wide.

This size decreased further as they moved on, to the point at which hills were now sparcely populated between. Then again, maybe the town infront could give help... wait what?

Yep, for some reason both Henry and Spot didn't see the town for a good 5 minutes before it was completely obvious that it was there. Ambling towards the town, no one came to meet him dispite the loud noise he was making just by getting closer- and walking in town was just as frustrating. This town seemed to have been abandoned not too long ago. If that surely was the case, maybe there was some spare food to have a munch at.

Having a look at each of the buildings showed that those that lived here were of different sizes; some homes were so small only Spot could get inside, others were so large that Henry could easily enter the entrances. One house in particular looked more polished, more kept in shape than the others. Stone walls that glistened in patches of whites, greys, reds, and more. No ordinary door layed upon the entrance, rather there was nothing blocking the way in. There was though a small circular object on the side of the doorway, and while Henry ignored it, Spot climbed unto Henry's head before momentarily pushing the said object, which had now emitted a high pitched sound that slowly quietened.

Scoulding at the young boy, Henry soon felt the presense of someone else other then themselves, and upon looking back at the doorway, his gut feelings were only confirmed. Filling the entire doorway was one that looked to have been a part of the town for a while, and compared to Henry this guy was definitely taller and bulkier. Surprisingly, his voice wasn't intimidating at all, it wasn't coarse in any way or form and it was at a pace that almost harmonised with one's understandings of the sentences said.

It was odd, this guy _looked_ like he could easily pick a fight with just about anything, however everything else was almost the opposite. This had to be some sort of defense mechanism, there's no doubt that this one isn't actually trying to be intimidating, so one can only imagine that anything that came to do bad to this town would immediately turn around when this guy actually wanted to scare them away.

"Oh, wasn't expecting anyone to be here anymore. You must be either new to this town or very, very lost. Come in, lemme get you something to eat up on, no offence but it looks like you haven't eaten for weeks!" Actually going inside only made the atmosphere stranger, the walls were littered with large cavities that kept certain nessessities in them, the home wasn't even a single room, but rather quite a few. There were large items made of wood that seemed to have been polished, and possibly also kept items insde. One room, much larger than the others in terms of width and length had stone furniture covered with grass, hay and other plants that made said furniture look and feel more comfortable.

Feeling awkward, Henry thought it would be best to intoduce himself and his aquaintence, though when doing so spoke as if he hadn't had anything to clear his throat, to which the other replied "Deary me lemme get you some water! You're very lucky to have come to this town in time otherwise I'm not sure you would've survived another week." Wanting to argue, Henry thought better due to both the hospitality and the actual truth to his words. Henry's kind didn't really need water or food every day- they used to, a long time ago, but had adapted to have more nutritional food in favour of eating for less time, the same with water. Only problem is this meant that for some amount of days they wouldn't feel thirsty nor hungry, but after then it would immediately kick off.

Eventually, both food and water were given to Henry and Spot. "Now, allow me to intoduce myself while you eat up. The name's Negev, former traden of this town." Finishing the food Henry had currently, he had enough time to ask "Traden?" Negev sighed, before responding. "A traden is someone who does all of the exchanges in the town, whether it be resources from the mountains, or food from the farms here, even kids if things got extremely dire, which fortunate hasn't happened until a few weeks ago."

"Why what's happened?" Henry asked, mid-eating, to which Negev gave a shocked-and-worrying look directly towards the Apatosaur. "You've been living under a mountain? The bright death event!? You know? Big bright light in the sky? Wall of air stripping trees and wooden buildings off thier roots, with big stormy clouds that covered the sky? None of this ringing? Not even the reports of a wall of fire bursting throughout town? The nerve on you to say you didn't know of any of thos-"

"Well those did happen where I came from, just, I didn't know that happened here too, where ever 'here' is." Finishing the meal that Negev gave out, Henry let out a long, deep sigh. If one was standing by, you could almost see the weight of responsibility on him almost crush him. "Family stuff huh?" Henry looked up as Negev stood beside, breathing slowly he responded troublesomly. "Yeah, I miss 'em. I'd do anything to get them back, so see them again."

After a brief moment of silence, Negev was now the one to ask more questions. "So, seems to me like you're from up north, considering you came from the south. Fortunately for you I have a large map that I can lend to you, should help you get back to where you need to go." Walking to one of the wooden holders as if knowing that he'd eventually go there, he took out the map he told of and rolled it out across the table-like furniture. Pointing to a part of the map near the bottom, he exclaimed "This point here is where we are right now. Depending on where exactly your home is, you'll need to get past both the southern and northern borders marked here and here, where the land is at its thinnest, they're pretty close to each other I know."

Continuing, he spoke "Henry, where exactly, do you live? You can point it on the map you know?" Henry almost immediately pointed to a part of the map he was sure was where he lived, but then he decided not to point at all, Negev would soon realise that Henry had no knowledge of where his home on the map actually was, and since only town/city names were marked on the map, he deduced that Henry had lived rurally.

"If you can't figure it out on the map, maybe you could describe the place? Or better yet, does it have a name?", "Of course it has a name, why wouldn't it? Anyways, how does Clawtooth Mountain sound like to you?" Before Henry knew it he and Spot was outside of the house, the doorway blocked by a massive chunk of wood.

"Any idea what happened there?" Henry asked Spot rhetorically. "Well then, uh... thanks for the food and water, really appreciated. If it was something I said, I'm sorry to have given you inconvenience." No answer came from behind the doorway, to which Henry told Spot "Righty then, lets get us home then shall we?" After walking merely a few steps away from the home, Henry could hear the doorway open again, Negev poking his head out to eye on Henry. "Look we're going okay!? Meant no harm jeez..." Henry exclaimed, slightly paranoid as to what Negev may do if Henry turned his attention away from him.

Fortunately, Henry need not have worried. "Look Henry, I'm sorry for what just happened, back there. You startled me when you mentioned that name, do you, actually _live_ there?" Slowly, and shortly, Henry preceeded to nod to the question. "Ooooh dear, come back insid- I mean, augh why is it so complicated!?"

"What is?"

"You! You come from Clawtooth Mountain! That means you yourself are a bad omen to those you interract with, but at the same time you lived there so that means you have some terrible, bad luck on your side, forcing me to want to help you yet at the same time pushing me away from it... oh why not!" Negev proceeded to pull Henry back into the home.

"Can you please tell me what's going on?"

"Henry what do you mean? It's like you don't know about it! But we all know, that would be crazy talk right... right?" Negev slowly turned from a joking face to a face that Henry wouldn't believe he could make. Disgust, anger, worry, shamfulness, all the negitive fears into one single expression; not many could give such a face though Henry knew now that Negev was one that could.

"You have got to be kidding me."

"I'm not."

"Okay fine, eeeehhhh, Clawtooth..." Negev physically shivered at the mention of the name, "Is a bad omen, because of _him_. Do you know what _him_ means? No? You don't know about the tales of the Nysasaurian Empire?" Henry shook his head to all three questions. "How can you _not_ know?! Every child at the age of 19 is told of this, why weren't you?"

"I don't know Negev, would you care to tell me?"

"Pfff, I have enough bad omens around this house already, I don't need more piling up! Here have the map, actually here..." Negev eventually gave Henry a strap with a container on it that he could place over himself {Personally I'd call it a handbag} before Negev proceeded to place the map along with a jar of golden-orange liquid. "There's a map and some food that shouldn't go bad in terms of nutrition, sorry I can't be of anymore assisstance-"

"Actually you can!" Henry almost chirpishly spoke.

"Hm? How?"

"Could you tell us where on this map Clawtooth is?" To which Negev seemed almost inflamed in anger "It's right there, that one with the symbol that literally translates to 'do not go here at all costs unless you want to hug death', happy? Now go!" With the info needed, and feeling like all that would come from staying at this particular house would be inconvenience. So with that, Henry and Spot went off from Negev's house.

* * *

 ** _Audio Message #8: Subject Member #3: Member 3, aka Henry, has travelled 440 miles (709 Km's) with Spot. Things seem to be still metastable between the two, and since Negev, their survival score is raised from a 3 to a 4.5 out of 5 (0 being dead and 5 being perfectly alive/healthy). Notes: Curiosity may lead one to some dark places, so tread with caution, Henry.  
_**

 _ **End of message.**_

* * *

 **A/N: Yep. I had a funny feeling that University was more than I could deal with. I don't know what to say anymore! Except, I hope that I can start getting chapters going again. It may be to a point where I can only do this during the lonegr holidays, which means either christmas or summer. Not what I want but I don't know anything else I can do to be more consistent.  
**

 **Next chapter: Horned Entrapment  
**

 **Fun Facts: Negev means 'from the south'  
**


	18. Page 18 - Horned Entrapment

**Location: 15°41'06.06"S. 67°07'49.67"W.**

 **Time since asteroid impact: 3 weeks 6 days  
**

* * *

Sleep patterns had now become an arbitrary guess instead of a certainty; the sky so blended between day and night that no guess could be entirely accurate. Only the outlines of nearby mountains, along with the sound of nearby animals, were the life signs of a new day. Although they rested in the river to cool down, the rising heat of the surrounding air had now become uncomfortable to say the least.

Waking up then, in this case, was not a pleasent experience anymore. What was once a daily experience of vibrant colours and shapes, had now been bleached into desaturated tones of grey, grey, and more grey. As if the life-force of the sky had ceased to function. Even walking had become painful, not due to any injuries, but from the dehydration due to the new, relentless heat.

And yet the two apatosaurs of the forest marched on, determined against all odds stacked up against them to reach their home. Blanketing canopies provided a slight break from the new temperatures, providing enough help for them to keep moving for at least a few days before even the forest could no longer help. By this time though, the temperature had started to fall, once again a new relief for Libby and Ida.

Above all else, they stuck to the river, not the main one however, as they both knew this would lead out eventually to the ocean. This allowed them to keep heading north, while still keeping the mountains on their left in view.

* * *

It had now been about a week since they had first entered the large forest, and despite the external pressures, both had fought against a lot that had been thrown at them. They _knew_ that there was not much else that would surpris-

The landscape had changed dramatically, the forests opened up to reveal the stone pillars that were surrounding the river and its neighbouring banks. These stone pillars seemed to have been eroded to their former shapes, however the boulders that were ontop told a different story. Sliding past each one was of difficulty; especially for Ida, as they were so densely populated. As they continued through the slithering sounds of munching grew from nowhere until it was so loud it felt like it was just behind the piller in front.

Ida was the first to look around, followed by Libby. From what they could see, a pack of raptors were feasting upon a carcas of some type of wild animal. Sitting right next to them was a unique dinosaur. One striking feature were the horns protruding out of its preadatory head. Ida almost felt Libby about to yelp at the sight but managed to cover her with one move with her tail.

"We have to be quiet Libby, look again." So Libby did, and realised that the horned dinosaur was actually trapped, almost tied to one of the pillers with a nest of vines, unable to move or reach them with its mouth. "See there Libby? The raptors have trapped that one, we mustn't speak too loudly or that may happen to us." Ida looked around only to find that the dinosaur in question had turned their head towards them, having spotted their presense. It was hard to tell what exactly the dinosaur was trying to say, or even signal, before the raptors took notice, but whatever it was trying to tell them they had stopped, allowing the raptors to continue feasting on the bloody remains.

From what Ida could guess, the dinosaur was trying to tell them to not bother and leave before they too would become victim. And yes, every part of Ida told her to heed the dinosaurs warning and leave, but before she could tell Libby, she noticed that Libby had already walked away from the scene and towards some vines.

"Libby what are you doing? We should be-"

"We can't just let them suffer like that!" Libby argued in a whisper, Ida for once was startled by the fact that Libby had actually gone against her mothers orders. "Anyways, I saw Henry do this with Arlo, if we can do the same thing but larger we might get them."

"That is a big 'might', Libby. How do you know this is gonna work as planned?" Ida now really wanted out of this place, however gave Libby the time to reply.

"When you and poppa decided to have us, did you know it was gonna work as planned?" Libby rebutted, smirking in a way that showed that she knew how Ida would react. Right away they both got to work, at first Ida hadn't a clue what Libby had in mind. Over time it became more clear that it was a large-scaled trap for the raptors.

* * *

Meanwhile the fellow dinosaur continued struggling to free themself, every now and then the raptors would glance back at them. One of them eventually walked closer to the trapped dinosaur. "You may have me trapped here, but make one more step and I will not hesitate to end your day quickly, or even slowly for that matter" Feminine in voice, however still ruthless in tone. Mentioned raptor responded by walking away for a second or two, before turning back towards the dinosaur and leaping straight at her.

"Hey!" The raptor stopped in its tracks, the others looked up from the now-fly-ridden corpse to see both Libby and Ida in front of them all. Tensions rose, and the atmosphere felt thicker than ever, before _all of the raptors_ lunged for the two. Running for their lives, or so it seemed, instead luring them into the area of interest, before stopping. As the raptors stopped, one of them; most likely the alpha, proceeded to once again lunge at the two, however stopped seemingly mid air. It turned out that one of its legs was caught in some extra vines, and while trying to jump them had tightened it to the point where either it snapped or something else would give.

That something else turned out to be the boulders on top of the pillars, four to be precise, as one by one they trapped the raptors in a net of vines. While it wouldn't hold them there forever, it gave them enough time to free the trapped dinosaur and leave the area immediately.

* * *

"Thanks for saving me back there, I don't know how I could repay your hospitality." The dinosaur affirmed, "Well we're currently heading back home, so if you know any way of taking us nearer then that would help us very much!" Ida had pointed out. "Well, where is it exactly, your home?" Already curious, Ida proceeded to answer. "Clawtooth Moun-"

Unfortunately for Ida, she was not able to utter the full name before the dinosaur tried her best to use its tail as a whip. "You two, should leave. Now!"

"Wait what? Wh-"

"Don't question the safety of our kind, you-"

"That's my Libby you're talking to... uh..."

"The name's Eithne- wait no don't change the subject! You know how bad Clawtooth is right? No one lives permanently anywhere near it! Did yo- no you could- yes your face says it all! You've been living right under Clawtooth's peaks haven't you?..." Eithne paused, before contemplating what the two apatosaurs must've been through before meeting her. "I'm, sorry, for what I did just now. You went all this way to save me and this is how I respond? It's just, how blissful is the ignorence that you bestow around yourselves, not knowing all of the things that... I'm not helping am I? I know where it is, quite far but reachable. This way." Eithne had leed the way for Ida and Libby to follow, hopefully for a better tomorrow.

* * *

 ** _Audio Message #9: Subject Members #4 & #6: Members 4 and 6, aka Ida and Libby, has travelled 815 miles (1312 Km's) with a new friend since my last visit. With a new friend their survivability had increased placing their survival score at a 4 out of 5 (0 being dead and 5 being perfectly alive/healthy). Notes: Eithne seems to have temper issues, I would not want to ask the wrong questions, Ida.  
_**

 _ **End of message.**_

* * *

 **A/N: Ye possibly the last I'll do until the next holidays, I underestimated university, so I won't be active as much- well, you've already seen how my activity has dropped. Anyways see you in the next chapter!  
**

 **Next chapter: A Scrambled Past  
**

 **Fun Facts: This scene is based off of a deleted scene from The Good Dinosaur called 'Raptor Trap', very limited access and I've only recently been able to watch it, it's great!  
**


	19. Page 19 - A Scrambled Past

**Location: 0°10'24.21"S. 79°05'38.26"W.**

 **Time since asteroid impact: 2 weeks 5 days  
**

* * *

Days of walking later and still no signs of anything significant. Mountains were feeling much more opposing due to the new weather, at times even the wind was too much for them to stand in one place yet alone walk. Progress was slow, but progress nonetheless took place, allowing them to travel far for the amount of days. Eventually, they found they the flat land gave way, and the mountain chain that was on their right had became highlands right in front. It had been some time since they were pretty much forced to elevate upwards, though not impossible.

Looking over the peak revealed the hightened grounds were much more distorted than what they've bene through before. Whatever caused this _must_ of been the same that destroyed Clawtooth, and the same that caused the forest fire that was most likely still raging on at this point.

"These are the badlands, Buck." commented Russel, "But not the way I've seen them before."

"Perhaps they just... look different when walking in a different direction?" Buck remarked, though Russel wouldn't budge. "No, I've been through here multiple times before, this area was much neater than it is now. My goodness it's like someone's just broken the land up then squeezed them together again!" Almost immediately Russel motioned away from Buck and deeper into the badlands. According to Russel these lands got their name from the amount of poisonous critters that roamed in the trees. Since there were no trees anymore this was obviously not a problem, instead replaced by this fractured land.

Natural hills replaced by sharp rocks jutting out, forcing the two to weave left and right wherever they went. This in turn had made the journey across the landscape just the more longer, exhasting, and pretty much brutal. By the time they had gone past the worst of it, their shadows casted long trails of darkness, as the sun poked through the clouds for the last time, before dying away.

For the time that the blessing sun was visible, it have them insight as to what time of day it was; specifically dusk, night would soon approach them like a cloud of fog that gets denser over a long period of time.

"Well then Buck, would you like to hear a story from me then?" Russel caved, much to Bucks surprise. "You said you weren't gonna-"

"I know what I said." He intervened, "But I think I can give you a story, one by one, increasing severity, until I have told you my most... my unforgettable tragedy." In responce, Buck slowed down his pace to match with Russels. The two were now in sync, walking along the calmer topography.

* * *

 _"Long times, it had been... since I recalled, this place. It was a paradise once. Then it was taken, my life changed for eternity. Curious, my young mind was, to explore the new place I had found myself. These new slopes all around, lost for eternity. A small village, I eventually found, where I was taken care of. My past, I left behind me, and instead looked forwards, to a bright future.  
_

 _I was curious however, whether the village was just one of many. Turns out it was, and led me to a place like no other. A distinctive name, and a curious context, my interests grew. When I mentioned where I was once born, they shunned me out, and again I was to myself. The world was, and still is, a rather harsh place. I came to learn that any sign of light in my life would be snuffed._

 _So as it seemed, there were exceptions, every now and then. My life never was the same though. It's always easy to think that tomorrow is another day, but back then it was the difference between pride and sorrow. The rules of these lands allow no errors like me; one who is an outsider in every aspect._

 _This life I had so far, distant from everyone else. I just wish I could go back, to the moment, it all so changed. Questions I want to give, answers I cannot get. For me, he who lives beside the mountain must be questioned for his actions, but for others, he who was born under the mountain must pay for his dark deeds, or so they say._

 _Even if someone offered salvation, chances are that eventually it would cycle back, the way things were. It's always a cycle, isn't it? Once you start looking for them you can't help but see them everywhere, as if enbedded into fate. If cycles are a biproduct of existance, then my life was a biproduct of that day oh such long ago._

 _Now that you're in my life however, perhaps cycles do not last forever. I have a feeling, though minor, that this will end. I can sense it. All I need is answers, I need the mountains, they're my only chance I believe."_

* * *

At this point in time they had long since stopped trudging, instead laying down on the hardened soil. It was truely the beginning of the night, allowing the cold to emit from practically every direction. Any warmth that was around was no longer here, tonight would be cold, but so far it didn't stop the two from staying awake.

"Sorry to be one of those types, but that wasn't exactly a uh, story. Just a bunch of... whatever." Buck murmured, breaking what ever trance was distracting Russel to this point. "Stories are not my thing, not many things are my thing. Or maybe it _is_ a story, but with meaning you will learn of some time in the future. Who knows really? Other than me of course."

"You litterally just sai-"

"Mhmm, I know guys like you Buck. Given the circumstances if I were to bluntly tell you a story of mine it'd only cause more curiosity, until everything was out in a heartbeat. This way however it only makes more sense as time passes. You seem to have managed to follow through the most confusing points, so I congratulate you on that!"

"I never asked for a story about your life, Russel. Just any type of story you know."

"Well why didn't you just ask for that then?"

"Because that's just common knowledge?"

"In what place is it common knowledge for one to tell a story not of themselves?"

"Where I came from, at least!"

"Ah yes your little homestead that you've been for all these years that just so happens to be destroyed, along with finding your family."

"Well at least I had a family!" Buck boomed, closing his eyes while doing so. Opening them again he saw a completely opposite expression from before. Russel stared blankly at him, wide eyed and everything. Gathering his senses, Russel stood up and started wandering away. "Look Russel please! I'm... I'm sorry about all that. It's just-"

"No, no. You're right. You had a family and I didn't, and I still don't."

After giving some thought, Buck went over to Russels side, "Well... maybe, I could help with that?" Once again Russel seemed surprised, though now in a positive way, as his smile now more genuine than before. "I think that would be good, yes.", "Yeah, maybe I could also give you some of the stories I was told, you know, from when home was actually a thing for me?"

"That would be splendid, thanks Buck." spoke Russel, who felt at ease. Buck once more started to treck towards their destination when abruptly stopped by the tail of his acquaintance. Even before he could speak, Russel signalled to look in the direction they were heading. A column of whispy smoke rose from the terrian far off in the distance. Perhaps things weren't so bad after all.

* * *

 ** _Audio Message #8: Subject Member #5: Member 5, aka Buck, has travelled 315 miles (506 Km's) with Russel. Although their relationship is still variable, it is certainly clear that it's becoming stronger. I would also add that they're communicating more, at least in terms of their contexts, so with that their survival score is raised to a 4.25 out of 5 (0 being dead and 5 being perfectly alive/healthy)._**

 ** _Notes: Sometimes, the hidden things are actually in plain sight, I hope you'll realise that soon Buck.  
_**

 _ **End of message.**_

* * *

 **A/N: N/A  
**

 **Next chapter: Coastal Trip to the Legend  
**

 **Fun Facts: N/A  
**


	20. Page 20 - Coastal Trip to the Legend

**Location: 15°41'06.06"S. 67°07'49.67"W.**

 **Time since asteroid impact: 2 weeks 5 days  
**

* * *

After what happened there with Negev, Henry could at least see where he was going, giving him big advantages. Rolling out the patchment on the ground, and holding it in place with a pebble or a few, he could see which way to go. Two distinct borders on the way to Clawtooth were the first to take note, if Henry could get through those there would be little problem. One of the perks of the information provided was that Henry could now find the coast.

Before, it seemed reasonable to go inland, however sticking to the coast provided a lot of minor, but otherwise large influences over the former travel. First, it would give him a distinct sense of where he is; ocean on the left, land on the right. Second, traversing the coast meant that Henry could potentially find a river every so often, giving him and Spot better management. Third, and most important, it allowed him to see where he'd already been, lessening the chance of getting truely lost.

And so his new journey birthed, using the nearest path to the coastline, before following the map up north. For many days and nights, he ventured past landscapes of differeing sizes, shapes, and consistency. Things weren't always perfect, having to traverse through deep water to make around lands with no passable edge, this wasn't a problem due to both Henrys size, and the fact that Spot would keep the container along with the contents inside well above the water if it ever got to that point. As days got darker it certainly did get harder, but it wasn't so bad.

Over the span of a week, he could see the change in environment of the land beside. What was plant ridden had become desert-like, and then proper desert-definite.

* * *

 **New Location:** **24°35'47.87"S. 70°33'29.64"W.**

 **Time since asteroid impact: 3 weeks 6 days**

* * *

By now, streams of flowing water were less common to find. Indeed there were many before, and he could see the remnants, but they left this place. Something on the coast struck his attention; footprints, and familar ones too. And nearby- an imprint of a body, or for what was left of it due to the waves that must've eroded it away since. He could tell that whoever it was, they were small; a child. However the footprints went towards the mountains, and into the desert that was described on the map.

Instinct and logic now were conflicted. If it was one of Henrys, then perhaps they're not too far. Problems arise however: wind could make it hard to see, not something you'd want when in a permanent twilight, that along with going inland, it seemed stupid to go. Eventually logic won, by proving that anyone of his family would find their way back to Clawtooth Mountain.

Leaving the coast and onto the journey continue, Henry reluctantly moved on. There was hope that did come from this though. If one of Henrys was around, he would surely seem them soon.

* * *

 **New Location:** **18°25'13.14"S. 70°19'14.98"W.**

 **Time since asteroid impact: 4 weeks 5 days**

* * *

Beaches were at this point rare to come by, though in this location an exception arose. One river along these banks was enough for the two of them to have a quick drink. This time though things were different. Only now did Henry truely get to grasp what the sky was doing; instead of clearing, the clouds thickened with each passing day. Only now did he have to accept two things: that this would only continute, and that it was happening everywhere. More so, the warming air had stopped, giving rise to a fresh cold front.

Not knowing how long this would last, Henry layed on the sandy shore; Spot curling up like a ball adjacent for warmth. With the remaining light fading to black, a good rest would hopefully ensure that the next days trail remains still simple to carry out.

Though the night got ever colder than the last, it swiftly became warmer than the days were. This wasn't really noticed by Henry nor Spot; infact the warmth would've helped them have a better slumber until dawn broke. And broke it did... as even with his eyes shut, the apatosaur could feel one side of himself recieveing a basking glow from an unknown source. At the same time, the pitch black gave way to a deep red; something was shining right onto them.

Splitting the darkness in two, before suddenly bringing them together, confirmed that there was indeed a bright light on the horizon. Having to look away before opening his eyes again, Henry was able to see the long crisp shadows spawning from him and away from the bea- looking again towards where the shoreline swayed it had seemingly dissapeared. In front of Henry was a large, flat and exposed grassland. Mountains weren't visable in any direction, so only the hills marked the horizon, and the river; there was a tranquil stream of flowing water, too wide for him to pass over. In fact looking at it better, it was probably too deep for Henry to just stand in.

A calm steady breeze of fresh air helped out cool him down in the sunlight. Actually speaking about that, Henry had just started to grasp that there we no clouds in the sky; not even the horizon. Instead any clouds in the distance was replaced by a minor haze. On the spur of the moment, Henry could feel his little companion wake up, before climbing onto Henrys back in order to be above the now-tall grass. No sign of vibrant flowers could be seen around, instead there were various taller plants with a dozen shades of green, yellow, and red - like the colours one would usually find in today's autum trees.

At first, Henry concluded that he must've walked during the night again, but that wouldn't explain the mysterious dissapearance of the clouds. He was sure that they would've gotten thicker to the point where it would be hard to see anything at all. Instead, the sky was devoid of them, like cutting down a tree before it grows to full height. Unless, Henry concluded, that the clouds weren't happening globally. He was sure of it, there wasn't much else to go by.

That is, until Henry reminded himself of what happened last time he walked during the night - the other place, where everything seemed better and more. Could this be of similar sort, just a different location? As of that moment he wasn't too sure what to believe, until something large in the distance caught his eye: a tall trail of smoke flowing upwards, reaching towards the sky. For Henry, a sign of civilisation, a chance to see where he was and get back on track to get home once more.

Curiosity, and more importantly salvation took over. Any chance to find home was better than none, and civilization _was_ that chance. Several things stood out as he got closer. First all of the buildings, while varying in height, were designed for a singular species. Second, these homes were rather densly packed, allowing no room for any farms on the inside. Third, most buildings were of a few different building materials/designs, unlike the town Negev lived in where the designs were the same. Finally, whoever lived there did not seem to like the fact that a giant, long necked individual like Henry was closing in on the town.

At first the final point made no sense, then again if these buildings are for those that are much smaller, then it wouldn't be of surprise if in their perspective Henry was about to destroy the town. He could hear it too, as even on the very edge of the town he could hear several cries of terror. Another yelp sounded from below, looking down Henry could see another of the inhabitants looking up at him in pure terror. Just as they were about to rush into the nearest building possible Henry spoke as fast as he could "No no please I'm not here to cause harm!" The resident stopped, sharply staring back at Henry. "Did you just... speak?" Henry had never heard an accent like that, whoever this feminine individual was, she like the others were not of Henrys kind.

"Yes? Anyways, as I was say-"

"Wait you can _understand_ what I'm saying?" She repeated, calmer but more surprised. "I mean... you're speaking normally? Am I not meant to understand you or what?" Confused Henry was at the current situation, "That's not what I meant to say - it's just, we've _never_ had anyone else speak out language, especially ones like you... actually now that I think about it, we've never seen _anyone_ your size. How'd you get to be so tall, and your neck! It's ridiculously long!"

"Hey!" Henry protested in annoyance "I'm fine the way I am. Anyways I'm just here to-" Before Henry could continue, another individual came out to look and remark how large Henry was. This was soon followed by more and more of them doing the same thing, this only grew worse when they saw Spot, who while being smaller than them was also apparently something they'd never seen before. As more and more of them came out from their buildings, it was clear that soon practically everyone in the town was going to come out and meet him.

It was obvious at this point that the situation had struck a nerve; Henry not too long ago had found himself lost, wanting to get back home, and now that he had the slightest chance of getting directions everyone around him blocked his progress. At the breaking point, Henry pushed himself off of his front two legs before slamming them back on the ground. The resulting movement of the ground around everyone slaughtered any sign of noise that they made, along with this, nearby buildings cracked and some even partially fell due to the movement. Without realising it Henry had stomped he feet onto loose soil, causing the normally solid ground to liquify for a moment, enough time to cause the nearby buildings to do their thing.

With all the voices silenced, he could see before himself that no one wanted to say a word until Henry made his next move, they were just motionless in a fight-or-flight situation. Surprisingly, Henry just took a breath or two, before speaking calmly. This was most likely a surprise to them due to the expectation that he would be furious. Instead, his next words were not of a command, but of a request. "I _just_ want directions to my home, I can leave you guys at rest once I have that. It's all I ask of you."

Waiting for anyone to voice up, many left back home due to not being able to help. "I might be of use to you." Someone amongst the crowd revealed, allowing Henry to lighten up in facial emotion. Once everyone else left, only one remained. "My name's Xela, my abode isn't too far from here. You have a name right?"

"It's Henry, pleasure to meet you Xela. So uh, am I meant to walk _between_ the buildings or...?" Both of them came to the same realisation that Henry was too large to fit between the buildings that suited the size of the indigenous. A simple compromise arose; have Henry walk around the town until he was at his closest to their home, before taking a path where it'd be just wide enough for him to get through. There were some ups and downs taking this approach, mainly the fact that some buildings had to tilt off of their foundations a tad, though it paid off in the end.

One of the perks of having a long neck as it turned out was that he didn't need to go too far in order to have his head far enough in the town to view the insides of her house. "You said you needed directions to your home and directions I shall give, just let me find..." Although Henry couldn't exactly see specifically what she was doing, he at least put two on two that she was scavenging around for the map. Whoever these were they were not entirely the most organised of folk.

"You have quite the collection huh?" Henry asked, "Why yes, a new one is given out every time the tress change colour, new settlements being made, expanses in borders and all, too much is happening and eventually something will slow it down. Sometimes, map makers have to make some if something major happens, which can be frustrating since communication is a tad slow. Anyways I've got the latest one, just tell me a name and I'll find it for you!" Xela chirped.

"Uhh, Clawtooth Mountain?" Xela immediately lifted her head and looked straight on, perplexed. "I don't need to search on this map in order to know that, there is no place called Clawtooth Mountain.", "Hang on, I thought _everyone_ knew about it, at least that's what Negev told me when he gave me his map."

He could see the frustration slowly build up on her, "If you have a map, why don't you use it?", "Because I don't know where I am to begin with... would you like to see..." "YES!" Xela bursted, right away Henry grasped the map with his teeth and carefully fed it through the largest of the windows. With Xela unravelling the patchment it felt like the confusion around them both was doing the same. Before Xela could say anything Henry understood that the writing would be somewhat unrecognisable, however did not take into account the possibility of something else entirely.

"This map... why is all the land split apart?" Xela asked camly. "This... this is how they are, right?", "Wrong! Here's what it's _supposed_ to look like." Xela revealed to Henry their version, in which he could see the reasoning behind it all; All of the land was just one, with a large expanse of ocean and some minor islands around. Although most parts were unrecognisable, one line of coast still retained the same mountain range as the map he was given to by Negev. Henry assumed that they were the same place, in which case he could pretty much guess where Clawtooth Mountain was. All he needed now was...

Unsure if it was coinsidence, or fate eternal, but Xela at that moment pointed to a part of the map very close to where his guess was. "Here's where we are, by the way. Does that help?", "Help? Of course it helps! Thank you so much Xela, looks like it's not too far away after all. I could make that in less than a day even." Turning around, Henry became startled.

Expecting to try and exit out of the town, Henry saw buildings more suited to his size. The landscape had completely changed, and the sky was all of a sudden covered in a thick blanket of clouds. One building had small, candle-like flames, which provided the only beacon of light amongst the otherwise limbo of a town. Things only took a turn for the wierder when he emptied out the bag he carried, showing that he had managed to collect both his map _and_ Xela's map. He couldn't deny anymore that, for what ever was going on, some of his dreams weren't actual dreams, rather real places. A key element that put the final nail down was the very thing that was in front of Henry and his companion.

The house. It was Negev's

* * *

 ** _Audio Message #11: Subject Members #3: Members 3, aka Henry, has travelled 1326 miles (2135 Km's), or at least he did, before something happened for him to go all the way back. Personally I have my ideas as to what could've caused this, but I'll wait for Henry to think of them himself. For now though, his survival score has lowered to a 3 out of 5 due to the unfortunality of returning to the same area.  
_**

 _ **End of message.**_

* * *

 **A/N: N/A  
**

 **Next chapter: Dome of the Pilgrimage  
**

 **Fun Facts: N/A  
**


	21. Page 21 - Dome of the Pilgrimage

**Location: 38°55'09.53"N. 121°35'14.81"E.**

 **Time since asteroid impact: 4 weeks 2 days  
**

* * *

Sunlight came and went with the passing clouds - each thicker than the last. Shadows that casted onto the ground flowed in a single direction, not caring about what landscape was in front. Off in the distance, a large field of marsh along with hills and valleys behind were in sight. And though it was harder to walk through, Verena and Masahiro persisted on past the boggy grass. The times when they were on solid ground were both the easiest and best moments, allowing them to clear the mud off from their legs. Roughly 5 days came and went from those moments, most being on proper land.

This soon changed, according to Masahiro there was one final stretch of marsh, and a deep one at that. Fortunately, various islands of solid ground meant that not all of the marsh had to be walked on.

"You call this marsh? I can still see my knees in this mud puddle!" Verena said, feeling at ease that the swamp wasn't as deep as she feared.

"Don't get too hopeful about this, you're standing above a surface layer that can just about hold our weight. There's parts here where that layer has holes in."

"So in that case, what would happen is this layer was to be, you know... broken?"

Masahiro answered boldly "We have had that happen, very rare cases, but in most cases the one who breaks that layer doesn't make it out of the marsh." Though it took a moment for Verena to get the implication, she soon became self aware of where she placed her footing.

Taking what seemed like half a day, they had made it past the middle ground. "Be very careful on this next part, we've found that many have tried to dash along here because of how close to end they are." Verena looked behind to see how far from the middle ground they were, but looking forward found no signs of the marsh end. With every step the reeking sound of grass squishing the liquid mud out emanated, louder and more disgusting as they moved on. Soon, the marsh itself formed ripples when stepped on, indicating that the bog beneath acted more like water than ground.

Eventually, landscapes sprouted from the horizon, off to the left a small island, and off to the right possibly the land they needed to be on. As enticing the large land on the right was, they persisted forwards as for a more direct route to Oykot. Land formations occured more commonly, closing in from both sides, putting two on two they were heading into a bay. Land from the right was now behind their view, and the left approaching their side.

Finally the land in front formed, the coast only a few moments away. The marsh felt more solid, giving Verena a sense of safety, and although Masahiro kept his pace, Verena trudged faster. Just as Masahiro caught up with Verena in order to slow her down the marsh beneath her gave way, allowing her to fall straight into the murky water. No sooner she did do Masahiro jumped in, hoping to get her out. It turns out that there was a hole in the surface marsh that was halfway recovered, to the point where it didn't look like one. It also turns out that the murky water was freezing, along with various plants underneath that could easily coil around an individual, making it impossible to get out of.

Although blinded in these waters, Masahiro could feel the the sound coming from Verena's thrashing movements allowing him to get closer, to the point where he could sense her body pressing against his muzzle. Fortunately, the depth of the water was low enough for them to rise back up to the surface. "Lay down Verena, the weight will be distributed better. You're lucky I got you out there in time, any longer and you'd be a gonner." Masahrio said frantically as he pulled himself out.

For the rest of the way out, they spent time carefully looking at the ground with Verena huddled against Masahiro's side while shivering. Sunshine was fading not too soon after they finally arrived on solid ground, forcing them to rest as the night passed by.

New light brought them out of their slumber, pressing on towards the city so big as mentioned by Masahiro. "How big are we talking here? I've seen mountains and-"

"Verena, Oykot isn't as high as the mountains you've lived next to for most of your life. No Oykot's size coms from it's area: it's so big that you would have to spend many days to get around even half the city, and that's just the ground floor." Masahiro explained. Most of this new day was spent walking through valleys, swiming across lakes, and most of all striding through the plains.

Though many landforms came and went, one in particular caught the apatosaur's attention; a large, cone shaped mountain with its top cut off. Had a large object grazed this mountain too, or was this something else? Nonetheless, she was almost fixated upon it to the point where her friend took notice. When ambling across the coast in front of the mountain, Masahiro stopped before sitting down on the sand.

As Verena followed, Masahiro explained "You seemed interested in this feature. This is a vital part of how Oykot works, as inside this mountain lies a massive room with liquid rock inside. The immense heat coming from this liquid rock allows us to control the shape of various other resources. Without this, who knows what Oykot would be like."

"Okay, but what _is it_?" Verena pressed on for an answer.

"It's a mountain, but it has the ability to explode out this liquid rock, along with dangerous smoke, from the top up there." Masahiro explained, before adding "Does that help?"

"Yeah it does, shall we move onto Oykot, by the way you describe it, sounds like a really important place." Verena said as they got back up, walking away from the mountain. "Oh yes it is Verena, everyone arrives there at least once in their life.", "I wonder if momma and papa have been there then."

"We could have a look, we keep a record of all who visit here, so providing you can give their first and last name we should be good."

"Wait, _last name_?" Verena questioned as they started to walk through the bottom of a v-shaped valley. "So you don't know their last name. That's fine, we can at least narrow it down with their first name." Soon enough they arrived to some level terrain, before going through a u-shaped valley. "Okay, we should be able to see it shortly around the corner, if not then it should be past the hills in front." Indeed the city remaind elusive, just when Masahiro would figure out that it would be behind a hill, it never came, and with the sun setting it wouldn't be long before they had to rest.

Finally, out of the side of the final hill they would've passed by before resting, the unnatural shape of Oykot came to be. For Verena, this city was nothing like she thought of. Instead of thousands of small buildings, with larger ones in the middle, it was one single mass - a very stretched dome whos end points were so far apart that it was challenging to see it all in one view.

"This isn't how it was before." Masahiro whispered to himself, not reaslising that Verena could hear. "What do you mean by that?"

"I uh, I mean this dome, this was just an idea one of the higher-up-individuals proposed, I never thought they'd actually go ahead with it." he relieved a heavy sigh, before continuing "Nevermind that though, we're here now. It's probably best if we arrange a room for 'ya, so much happens around Oykot that it may take a while to get the info on how to get you back to-" He paused breifly, enough to interest Verena's attention. "Just realised, maybe it's best if you leave me to the talking, unless they directly want your say on things."

* * *

 ** _Audio Message #8: Subject Member 2 - aka Verena, has travelled 1357 miles (2183 Km's) with_** ** _Masahiro. While I admit that Verena has arrived at an extremely safe place to live in, it does not mean that things are okay from here on out, the complications of Oykot alone will be a challenge for her. Her survival score is for now a 4.5 out of 5 (0 being dead and 5 being perfectly alive/healthy)._**

 ** _Notes: Rumors easily spread in this place, I advice not to say anything to boldly around here.  
_**

 _ **End of message.**_

* * *

 **A/N: N/A  
**

 **Next chapter: Runaway Impressions  
**

 **Fun Facts: N/A  
**


	22. Page 22 - Runaway Impressions

**Location: 15°41'06.06"S. 67°07'49.67"W.**

 **Time since asteroid impact: 4 weeks 3 days  
**

* * *

Although subtle at first, Arlo could feel every now and then a force pushing against him. Like a physical alarm clock, Arlo woke to see that it was Ivy, the one who saved him the previous day, who was nudging him. "You're awake! Sorry about doing this so early, but if we're to get to Oykot we must get to the next volcano before the end of the day." With his eyes half open, he looked around the new environment to see what was going on. Though mostly flat, they were right next to a mountain range that seemed to go across the entire island. Fortunately, the clouds had opened up enough for them to make the journey.

Slowly, but eventually, Arlo stood up on all fours. "There we go, you good Arlo?" Ivy asked, "I'm fine, just thinking about where my family is."

"Your family? I'm not able to answer that, the ocean currents may have taken them to completely different places. However if that's the case, there's not many places they can go without stumbling across a town, they'll be safe there." Ivy reasured, before continuing "Although, knowing your family, you may all want to head back to C-... back to home I mean. We can provide you with what you need once we get to Oykot if that helps. In the meantime, there's not much we can do on this island except head towards what we need to get there."

Flat land was littered with small, dark pebbles that were warm to the touch, alongside the odd boulder or two that were schorching to interect with. "I told you before that you shouldn't press against that if I were you Arlo, they cause enough damage already when falling from the sky, last thing I want to recall from this journey is you dying from ignorance."

"Sorry, that's the first time you've told me that." Arlo insisted, however Ivy didn't seem convinced "Arlo I told you while we were on the..." she paused "You don't remember all that I said about Oykot, do you?"

"Uuuh, I-"

"Don't worry, I can tell you all about it while we travel to the next volcano. I'll just skip to the part that matters."

* * *

 _Over 4 weeks ago..._

The city of Oykot was a thriving place, where many came, lived, and went. The center of both power and resources, from reinforced iron to flexible sheets. So vast in size that it held a higher population than the next twenty cities combined. Truly a formidable, unmovable mass filled with extraordinary potential. Fuelled by the raging heart of the firery mountain, the fertile ground we walked on, the dynamic winds of the air, and the ever changing tides of the oceans. Living in Oykot meant both safety and might, proven as one amongst all of our kind.

On that day, the world decided to change that the forces that once stood in an alliance transformed into powerful enemies that turned their back from us. A second sun had risen from the opposite direction from that the elder would normally greet us at. Growing larger and stronger, it was clear that whatever happened in that direction was heading towards us. While we were arguing over what possibly could've caused it, the next enemy came to pass: a dense falling of boiling rock came down like rain, burning anything they came into contact with.

Each piece varied, most were less in size than the grains of sand you'd find on a beach. However that doesn't mean the large ones were rare either, those were far worse when colliding with the ground, smashing any buildings that stood in their way. The air had changed also - wind picked up in speed and picked up any loose material from the ground, creating a heated storm filled with dust. Anything that stood against everything at that time most likely crumbled before the ground as it violently shook, and the water climbed, devouring anything that wanted to head there for safety.

By the time everything calmed to what it's like now, over sixty percent of all individuals had perished, and most if not all buildings were damaged in some way. Ever since then everyone has done their best to rebuild Oykot, making it better than it was before.

* * *

"...A certain individual who I'll gadly greet you to came up with the brilliant idea of a dome-shaped structure, though I was put on duty for rescuing those who were lost, like you for instance. Though of all places you came from it had to be that three-pointed mountain range. Well it's not all bad, once we arrive there we can give you what you need, and provided this weather doesn't turn for the worst you should be allowed out in no time!"

As they got to the volcano, it soon dawned on them that the journey to Oykot may take longer - hopscotching volcanic islands wouldn't be so straight forward, as it would obviously seem unlikely for a volcano to erupt whenever they fly over the area. As such, around 5 days passed before they landed at a point where it would be unessesary to do it again.

Knowing the general direction, Arlo was surprised that his companion veered to the left towards what looked to be a burnt-down building. Inside layed a set of carts connected by some chains, all on a pair of rails - a train. "Get on." Ivy signalled, "It's got a few kinks that need to be sorted out, but this is our fastest way to Oykot, plus it'll take you to the top of Iron Mountain. Great view up there." Almost reluctantly, Arlo carefully stepped into one of the carts, a subtle creeking sounded with every step. On the contrast, Ivy jumped right in before swiping a nearby lever with her tail. After a short pause, the carts came to life, accelerating forwards.

Up and down they went as they climbed mountains and scaled them back down, through valleys and short tunnels, and eventually, Iron Mountain. This particular mountain was cone-shaped, and although for the most part it kept its grey rocky form, the top had a distinct reddish-brown tinge, along with snow at the very top. Most of the way up was fine, a relief to Arlo especially. The summit view turned out to be better than expected; land and sea distinguised from one another, and Oykot, Oykot was especially grand, a single structure that spanned from the smaller mountains on the left to the sea on the right.

Though massively wide, its height was underwhelming from a vantage point like this one - appearing just higher than the horizon. "Told you Arlo, isn't the view wonderful?"

"Yeah... _yeah_ , you're right. So uh, how do we get down from here?" Arlo asked, right before a deep sound came from the city they looked down upon. "It's today isn't it? Of course it had to be."

"What is it Ivy?"

"It looks like they completed the dome faster than I thought, right, lets get down there or we'll miss the celebration." Ivy exclaimed, pushing one of the levers on the front cart. However the train wouldn't budge. "Uh oh." Ivy said quietly "What do you mean 'uh oh'?"

Facing Arlo, Ivy sighed "Everytime we go up and down a hill or mountain, this train adjusts the brakes so that we don't end up racing towards the bottom. It appears that the brakes have actually locked into place unless I switch them off completely."

"Okay, well then switch them off then."

"It's not as easy as you might think. Remember that these brakes are the only things keeping us from falling down. If I disable them now then we'll be moving too fast to turn them back on again." Ivy explained, backing up slightly in preparation to turn around. However upon turning, her tail grazed one of the levers that situated on the left side of the cart. Arlo gulped as the steady clunks of the brakes being disabled sounded. Before the opportunity to pull the lever arose, the brakes sharply gave way.

* * *

 ** _Audio Message #11: Subject Member 1 - aka Arlo, has travelled 1615 miles (2559 Km's), having made it to Oykot. Being in the same general area at the same time, a tenfold increase has occued in relation to the chances of Arlo and Verena meeting each other. Due to the situation he is currently in, his survival score is at a 3.8 out of 5.  
_**

 ** _It has occured to me however that a summary of Oykot is needed in terms of measurements:_**

 ** _Oykot is around 50 Km (~31 Miles) in radius, and has a peak height of 1 Km, though seemingly impossible at first glance, the massive width of the structure avoids problems usually found when constructing thin skyscrapers, wind shear being the main factor. The problem of weight is also solved when considering the massive area that the weight would be distributed accross. Construction of something as large as this within 4 weeks also seems like an improbability, however the shear size of Oykot's population, coupled with the building skills that almost all individuals seem to have, means that this sort of feat is in the realm of possibility._**

 ** _That doesn't mean that Oykot is without problems, individuals of a certain size and wight would be limited to the lower floors, apart from the central buidings in which case higher floors may be achievable. Other issues will also need to be carried out, but for now I accept the current design of this structure._**

 ** _Notes: Like with Verena, r_** ** _ ** _umors easily spread in this place, I advise not to say anything to boldly around here._**_**

 _ **End of message.**_

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 **Next chapter: Home is not Your Home  
**


	23. Page 23 - Home is not Your Home

**Location: 35°21'27.60"N. 139°16'08.24"E.**

 **Time since asteroid impact: 1 month 4 days  
**

* * *

Although still 10s of miles from the perimeter of Oykot, Verena had to keep looking from left to right in order to grasp how wide the structure was. "How could something like _this_ be made in such short time?" she pondered loudly.

"Simple." Masahiro responded as they trudged towards the city. "Even though we suffered many casualties when this all started we were aided by refugees that, like you, had travelled far and wide. This city represents our effort to work together, with combined strengths to achieve anything possible. It serves also as a significant cultural hub, as well as the communication center of the entire world. Keeping this city, as well as the inhabitants inside safe, is out number one priority. Which is why the completion of this dome will be one of our greatest achievements."

After careful decision, Verena simply replied " _One of?_ "

Chuckling, Masahiro said "Oykot has had many achievements. For example, see those two towers at the middle of the dome right there." before pointing, Verena moved up closer in order to see exactly where he was directing her vision. Sure enough, there were two small towers jutting out of the dome. "Those towers served as our way of keeping track of time using the sun's movements, wasn't long before we could track the sun without the need of the towers, so we converted them into the tallest living spaces in history."

Only bringing more confusion, Verena retorted "Wait how can you even get... you know..."

"Aaah I know what you mean, the towers are reinforced with the metal we shape up at Iron Mountain over there, plus, we used the combination of both towers, as well has having large floors at their base, to ensure that they kept stable. If you want we could set a room up near the top, just under the roof of the dome. Though in retrospect, there's not too many jobs up there."

"What do you mean?" Verena questioned. "Well, near the bottom you have more direct access to the majority of the city. I think the biggest jobs are farming, livestock feeding/herding, and trading resources - loads of shops down there. Nearer to the top the jobs get less and less diverse. Right at the top the only jobs you're gonna find are either data logging or council meetings, which going by the way you are may be a little boring. You could be at the top and do the lower-floor jobs, but it means commuting up and down every day."

Soon enough the entrance became larger and larger in perspective, until it was obvious that it was intended to be entered by individuals of a wide range of sizes. As such, she could see that the outer layer of the dome had recently been retracted, leaving massive skylights all around that lit up the ground below. Meanwhile, the buildings themselves were dynamic in shape, with the sole purpose of keeping each other building stable. Almost like an inverted ants nest, the buildings got thinner to the top, until right where the outer layer would be, where several buildings jutted out - most likely where the outer layers retract to.

From this, Verena knew that the dome wasn't a single piece covering the entire city, rather made up of modular pieces that could fold and hide inside the buildings. However right as she was enticed to go inside, a hard nudge came from Masahiro's diretion. "Welp, this is where the process starts.", just now realising what she was getting herself into, she quickly responded "Wait, why can't I go back to Cl-" Masahiro had to literally clamp her mouth shut with his small hands, a difficult task already.

When Verena finally quietened down, Masahiro took her slightly further from the entrance. "Verena, there's some important things I need to advise when being here okay? I know how much you want to go back home right now, but we do need to check if your family has already been here, or have been at other places around the world. If we can find a recent logging of the names of your family, we can track where they are and see if they're anywhere close or if they're very far away. Deciding to go back to..." He paused, before reluctantly muttering "...Clawtooth Mountain..." Though questionable, she decided not to inquiry about it for now. "Without knowing if your family is already here would be dangerous as of itself, you'd be there while the rest of you family could be potentially here."

Nodding in agreement rather than agreeing in words was probably best. "Anyways, to do that we need to get you inside, but..."

"But what exactly?" Verena asked, slightly annoyed. "Don't worry, you'll be asked to say your name, age, and location. Just... follow my lead." Masahiro said, before walking over to the entrance. Whoever came last was surely higher than Masahiro, as slowly the desk came lowering down until it was more suited to his height. On the other side an adult Styracosaurus came to greet. What stood out above all else was the vibrancy across the spikes and neck frill, with a neon blue and black stripes on the spikes, and a blinding white pattern on the frill. Other than that, the rust-like colour across the back was also of note, though ridden with more dull stripes.

"Hello Oscar, I'm-"

"I know who you are Masahiro, you don't need to be so formal with me you know?" Oscar interrupted jokingly, only to see Masahiro with a more serious face than before "I'm trying to be formal so that she know's how to get in." Pointing directly at Verena. "Oh is that the issue now? If you insist then sure. Hey lass come over please!" Verena made her way over to Oscar, who lowered the desk even more. "May you please state your name age and location. No um's or uh's if you can."

As Masahiro signalled to speak, Verena said calmly "My name's Verena, I'm... eleven years old, and I come from-" Masahiro interruped by pressing a button on the desk. "Hey what was that for, she did good give her credit for that at least." Oscar argued lightly. "It's not that, it's just-" Glancing over at Verena, Masahiro then finished his sentence by whispering right next to Oscar, so quietly that Verena couldn't pick up any words. After he stopped Oscar slowly turned to Verena, then back at Masahiro, before bursting out in laughter. "Oh- oh! Masahiro you give me plenty of jokes but this one by far is the best one you've said. Ha haaa you never fail to make me..." He stopped, only not did both Verena and Oscar see how unhappy Masahiro was.

"You're not kidding, are you?"

"Does it LOOK like I'm kidding!?" Masahiro lashed out. "Of course not, but making a claim like that... I mean look at her! That's quite the claim you're making." Oscar argued.

Verena having none of the secrecy interrupted. "If you two are bickering about me coming from Clawtooth Mountain then yes, yes I did live there." Almost immediately both Oscar and Masahiro had their mouths agape for a moment, before Oscar broke the scilence. "Well then, I uh... hope you have a nice time at Oykot?" Pressing another button, this time under the desk, the barrier that stopped them from physically going inside raised upwards. Coming out of the entrance and into the main city Oscar emerged from another exit, most likely the staff exit, to greet them both. "Since you're now in here, I guess I can give you this so others know you came here."

It was this exact moment Verena saw all the stuff that was hanging from Oscar's frill spikes, Masahiro taking one of them and wrapped it around the bottom of her neck, it was loose, with a weight on the front part of whatever it was. "This Verena, is a medal that lets everyone know you're now a certified citizen of Oykot. Should your family wish to come back here, you won't need to go through all that happened back there at the entrance."

* * *

Exploring the city revealed just how diverse things truly were around here. Plants of all kinds provide half of the food, while livestock gives the other. As well as the various jobs, there were also many forms of entertainment. For example, every now and then an object would fall from above onto a set of concentric rings, turns out this was one of those activities that involved dropping an object down with the aim of landing inside the center-most circle, with difficulty increasing the higher one went.

There was another similar, but in the opposite direction and more educational, involving many sperical objects of decreasing size being dropped ontop of another and seeing how far up the smallest ball goes. Some attempts of this caused it to launch in various directions, though the more alligned the objects were the higher the projectile went. These sports Masahiro told Verena evolved very quickly, with a new form combining the two aforementioned 'sports' into one - dropping many sized balls, but purposefully unaligned so that the projectile is launched sideways, seeing how close to the inner-most ring it gets to.

Enough about the sports however, for it wasn't long before Verena could see the two central towers. There seemed to be a unique geometry throughout the city that enabled anyone to see them from as far as she was, allowing for an easy way to get to them. "Have you decided what job you'd like yet?" Masahiro chimed in, reminding Verena that she might as well do something around here if finding her family is to take longer than expected. "Farming. Simple."

"Not 'simple', actually. Which part of farming? You could be the seed placer, plower, waterer, harvester, or even storage manager." As if it weren't easy enough to choose the one she was most familiar with, now it had to be a specific job. "If it has to be specific, plower seems fine by me.", "Odd choice, but if that's what you want I can't complain. Right, now comes the decision of which floor to stay on. Personally I recommend the lowest floor since that'll be easiest to travel between."

Verena looked up at the towers to see which one suited best, and while yes the lowest floors did indeed mean less travel time, it certainly didn't give a good view. "Highest one, if that's possible." you could almost see Masahiro attempt to do a spit take, "You are indeed a strange one aren't ya? Might as well, seeing how you're not staying for long, I guess you could see what I did at my old job up there."

* * *

"How may I be of service to you two?" Cheerfully, a female Therizinosaurus spoke as Verena and Masahiro appraoched. "Well actually it's just for Verena here, she's new. Are there any available rooms on the uh... highest floor?" as the front desk clerk went left and right searching for the right floor, it was soon recognised how unfathomably long her claws were. "Ah found it, it appears that... huh, every room on the floor is available? I thought they were all reserved yesterday. Whatever, looks like you get to decide. There are 8 rooms on that floor for your size or larger, would you like the one facing Iron Mountain, or the three rooms facing the rooms, getting room four defeats the purpose of seeing the view if you're facing the other tower, not sure why you'd wanna go in that one. Oh, room eight could be of your liking, you can see the oceans, land, and if you look from the right angle even Iron Mountain. Plus you could be able to see the parade go on from up there."

Puzzled, Verena asked "Parade?". "She _is_ new here huh? Well today they're gonna celebrate the completion of this dome they've built. You're able to hear it all the way from the other side too, so it's not like you're gonna miss the sounds! Getting carried away aren't I? Well here's your key to get in, and I hope you enjoy your permanent stay here in Oyko-"

"Oh it's... not permanent." Masahiro explained.

"Wait, then why is she staying here then?"

"She wants to see the view while we search for her family, could take days knowing how far they could be."

Almost wincing at him suspiciously, she brought herself closer "And what's that meant to say? Just how far are we talking?" Before Masahiro could say anything, Verena quickly muttered "I'm from Clawtooth Mountain, duh." before swiftly going inside. Stairs going up to the top, as well as some sort of system, became visible near the center of the tower. Having to drop the keys to see the floor number before picking them back up with her teeth she glanced at all the buttons representing each floor, choosing the matching number. Surprisingly, the system that she was now in didn't take long to get her up to the desired floor, though not without feeling a few years older in terms of weight.

Opening the door to the room listed on the key, it was just about right for her size, with extra height for any guests. Curious as to where the other doors in room went, she carefully opened each one. The largest of them had many sized beds, from small to extra*8 large. Most notable of all was the door that contained hay bales, with a note on the door handle "For you Verena.". This out of everything else was by far strikingly significant. Someone had to of known her name, knew the right sort of bedding, and then place it in the right room.

Deciding best not to say much about it, she took the majority of it and placed half on the bed she picked out, before laying on the other half that was situated next to the window. Finally, for the first time since she woke up, she could rest and fully observe her surroundings. Down below she could see the parade being prepared - seemed to be on the verge of starting. All around, taking up most of the view, she could see the various buildings that kept the framework of the dome up, with enough gaps for her to see outside. It seemed like she could see everything from this height, over on one side the slopes of Iron Mountain were just out of reach, while on the other a vast expanse of ocean saw no land beyond.

BAM!

Verena leaped up into the air, almost bumping into the ceiling on the top, before thumping back down onto the floor. "VERENA!" She knew what she was in for, as Masahiro came storming in ready to explode in anger. "Do you know how long I had to talk her down from telling anyone about you? Lets get one thing clear between you and this city, no one ever mentions Clawtooth Mountain here!"

Not thinking twice, Verena said in a smuglish-fashion "You just said it." and instead of a worded reply was almost deafened by the Siats' ferocious roar. "Listen here, I don't know exactly where you lived was like, but let me tell you that things are different around here. Please just as long as you don't mention it you'll be fine."

Immediately Verena argued "But _why_ can't we mention Clawtooth Mountain? It's a nice, quiet, beautiful place with a tranquil river flowing by... well was I should say, until... you know, our home was destroyed... I miss them." Masahiro quickly calmed down, realising that Verena was almost in tears. Laying down next to her he made sure to embrace her. "I'm sorry Verena." Hearing the sniffles only made him feel guilty more so. "It's not your fault... it's me, worrying too much. I know my family enough to know that wherever they are, they can ger back home. I just need to-"

She paused, at first Masahiro couldn't understand why, but looking outside gave him the answer. Down below the parade had stopped, and a section of the dome had been closed. "That's not right, why would they cancel the parade?" he said loudly, before looking beyond the dome, a thin trail of train smoke came from the volcano and down towards the dome, which had now started to produce a thick cloud of billowing smoke.

* * *

 ** _Audio Message #15: It appears as though my counting for the amount of audio messages has gone out of touch, so from now on I'm sure I'll give their proper number. Anyways, Subject Member 2 - aka Verena, has travelled 45 miles (73 Km's) with_** ** _Masahiro. I am unable to explain certain things as of what has happened here for now, but I'll come back hopefully with some conclusion. Her survival score has been raised now to a 4.8 out of 5 (0 being dead and 5 being perfectly alive/healthy)._**

 _ **End of message.**_

* * *

 **A/N: N/A  
**

 **Next chapter: Taboo Mountains  
**

 **Fun Facts: N/A  
**


	24. Page 24 - Taboo Mountains

**Location: 35°44'12.01"S. 139°51'51.56"W.**

 **Time since asteroid impact: 1 month 4 days  
**

* * *

As the large doors behind crept to a close, the echoed sounds from their contact with each other filled the large room. Said room consisted of nothing more than a single block of wood, almost 5 times longer than your adult Apatosaur. Its thickness varied, with one end smaller than Arlo's knee, the other being twice his full height. Unusually smooth to the touch, it didn't feel like wood at all. Sure, if one were to kick it it would sound like wood, but other than that and the many rings of brown shades that coloured it there was nothing else to tell that it was wood - no splinters came from it.

Nevertheless, the unnatural wooden block wasn't the most striking feature. On the other end stood someone who struck fear into Arlo with a mere glance. His sharpened teeth stuck out from the closed mouth he bore, the monotonous sound of a claw tapping the lithic floor pierced the air, and above all else the sail that topped his back almost looked as if it was turning to a deep red.

Strangly as it seems, for the first time Arlo could take a moment to think about all that had happened. It had just been over a month since he last saw his family, since his home had been taken away from them. And all the stuff that happened afterwards, having to dodge both a wild fire and a tornado, before flying out to here causing unintentional havoc. That last thought struck him, not able to properly visualise what the rest of his family would say or do if they found out all that he'd been through at this point.

 _Tap_

Unmistakingly, his thoughts had to reset back to reality as that tapping came back to the top of his attention.

 _Tap_

There was an interval, to it, every so often, but there was almost no offset, an almost exact timing. Clearly this was not the first time he's been able to do the-

 _Tap_

Definitely experienced, there _was_ no delay, it _was_ exact. _"Just how many times is he gonna keep tapping like that?"_ Arlo thought to himself, it was only then that he looked directly at the spinosaur that was on the other side...

...

The tapping ceased. Paradoxically, the lack of tapping was worse with the new silence. A thunderous stare casted from this spinosaur, but it wasn't directed at Arlo. Spectating Ivy revealed that justifiably she was beyond nervous, something her onlooker never saw from her before.

 _Tap, Tap_

In a split second Arlo was back to looking at the previous individual, who now eyed him. It took a moment, but Arlo saw a difference in his intentions at observing Arlo against looking at Ivy. While his gaze was filled with anger and dissapointment for Ivy, only curiosity and rationality came from him when looking before the apatosaur now seemingly put under the spotlight. This spinosaur was figuring out everything about Arlo before the first word was drawn, and Arlo himself knew it.

"Sir I-" Almost immediately Ivy's speach ceased, not with interrupted words of any kind however. The spinosaur that Ivy confronted had merely raised his hand, no sound at all.

Silence remained for a full moment before Ivy spoke up again. "Please I can expla-"

"You failed me Ivy..." The spinosaur finally spoke, there was no emotion in his words, no sign of good as well as bad - perfectly neutral."...I thought that if I gave you this job of exploring the outside and rescuing, rather than filtering through entry reports, that you may actually stop being a pain on the back of Oykot. Yet you've somehow managed to mess this up. Going on the track that was not recommended to go on in the first place, indirectly damaging a segment of the dome not too long after it was complete, interrupting a parade that was about to commence- the list goes on as of what this incident had caused. I have a multitude of reports and complaints about this incident and not even a quarter of the day's gone by..."

"...You've not only failed me, not only have you failed the duties of Oykot, but you have also failed yourself. Anyone who has even the slightest sense of intelligence would know that this has to stop now with you being exiled from this place." As of that moment the spinosaur was now almos directly in front, having to point his head directly down towards Ivy. It was then that he did something Arlo wouldn't of expected from someone like him - he started caressing Ivy, and this time there was emotion that came with it.

For Arlo it finally clicked on their relationship, more than the bitterness in his voice. "However, you have managed to do one thing right with this newfound job. I see great interest in this individual who you've rescued. As a result the actions you've caused will be somewhat excused for now, I'll be sure to return you back to your old job, as well as taking care of our temporary guest here. For now though, you may go to your quarters, I have this individual here to speak with." Obviously referring to Arlo, the spinosaur now took a couple of steps away from Ivy before she sheepishly left the room, albeit taking one final look at Arlo that he read as _"Good luck."_

* * *

Once again the doors closed, only this time the room no longer felt empty. An odd feeling considering there was now less in the room than before. "I hope you don't mind what happened, sometimes she just manages to cause trouble when there's not supposed to be. Between you and me I find it to be a good thing that she does this - reminds me that as firm Oykot is, it is far from perfect. A daily reminder that nothing can be perfect is sometimes a good thing to have, especially when being the one who's supposed to represent for the city."

A pause in his speech commenced, during which Arlo couldn't help but notice how much the spinosaur kept looking at him. Termination of said pause led to a voice filled with more emotion, more emphasis. "But I digress, after all you're the wild card here. I take it that you wish to stay here only for a limited amount of time before going back to your loved ones. A shame if you ask me, very few so young and innocent arrive here pretty much alone. Your parents must of really liked being far away from crowded places, I don't see any reason why not to have a more simple life, away from all the... forgive me for trailing off but there's just so much about you that I can't help but wonder..."

As the silence once more filled the space, a sudden fluctuation of confidence pushed Arlo into speaking. "Uuuh, hello... my name is Arlo, I-"

"Arlo?" The spinosaur asked, sounding so intrigued by the name as if it was his first time hearing such a name. "Quite the contrasted name; outside brave yet inside still developing. Such balance between two opposites I've not seen in many. You were going to mention your origin before I so rudely interrupted, save your breath I already know where you come from. Someone coming from those mountains has been heard of before, but someone _born_ there? No one's ever heard of something so... so... there's a word for that at the tip of my mouth but can't quite get to it."

"Word of advice before you leave this room, try your best not to mention Clawtooth Mountain, rarely is it ever taken lightly. Though you may be staying here temporary Arlo, I've already reserved a room up here for you to live in for the meanwhile. If you need anything you know where to get me." The suddeness in the extinction of his speech startled Arlo, who instinctively turned to leave.

"Oh and one more thing." Arlo froze in position, turning his head around he once more greeted the spinosaur that stood before him. "I've never told anyone of my name around here, not even Ivy knows of it." Out of nowhere his voice returned to sounding cold and lacked emotion. "But I'll make an exception for you, call me Moorak the next time you see me." For the first time since Arlo had seen Moorak, he wore a subtle smile, allowing Arlo to leave with mixed feelings about what the future had in store for him.

* * *

 ** _Audio Message #16: Subject Member 1 - aka Arlo, has travelled 81 miles (130 Km's). Now faced with both the leader of Oykot as well as Oykot itself, there is now more at stake, and considering both he and Verena are not too far (albeit different buildings), there is more to it than he's currently aware of. Due to the situation he is currently in, his survival score is at a 4.8 out of 5._**

 _ **End of message.**_

* * *

 **AN: After chapters of being "N/A", I guess it's time I give some responses to the reviews.  
**

* * *

 _ **Reviews relating to HLA:**_

 **TL - During the making of HLA I hadn't known of their names, so sorry for not having them in the story. They could make an appearence in the future though.**

 _ **Reviews relating to PMBW:**_

 **Stupid Moron - I don't 'love ruining innocent films with violence' on the wrong characters, not many have done it before and so I thought I'd give it a go. Also, The Good Dinosaur has quite a few dark themes to it, as well as violence. I do wonder what you will think when reading SOAM, since you've reviewed the previous two stories yet not this one.**

 **Also, no idea who 'Borba' is.**

 _ **Reviews relating to SOAM:**_

 **Idunno - It's justified, but why exactly won't be known for some time.**

 **Guest - Your hopes will be met, don't worry.**

 **Libabz - Yes, I'm going to keep making these, however it'll be on the weekends of holidays, since university is taking a toll.**

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 **Next chapter: A Landscape of Flames**


	25. Page 25 - A Landscape of Flames

**Location: 11°26'01.93"S. 72°32'49.50"W.**

 **Time since asteroid impact: 1 month 6 days  
**

* * *

With every step of the way forward, the tension between Ida/Libby and Ethine became stronger and more noticable - not a single word had been spoken since they had started following her, and the dimming light certainly wasn't helping. Nothing about this was right even naturally, every way through the now dense forest had to be done with basic teamwork but since the lack of communication between them all was striking, there was no end to the amount of times all three nearly fell over, they had been quite fortunate so far.

Finally a small river came to block their path, its rapids too fast for any one of them to cross without being swept away instantly. "What... are you doing?" Ethine cocked her head to the side as she watched Ida and Libby moving a few trees that had been knocked down. "We want to get across the river right? Why not a bridge?" Ida responded as if she was mildly offended, this surprising Ethine. "Well I... nevermind, I thought that you would've tried to walk around the river like a-" She stopped herself from continuing that sentence, but knew inside that Ida had already picked up on it.

"Like a _what_ , exactly?" by now she was no longer working on the bridge, leaving it up to Libby to do the work. Instead she was directly in front of Ethine, though keeping herself from being too tall. "What were you going to say after that Ethine?".

Trying to turn away from her, Ethine found it frustrating that Ida would walk directly to where she had her head turned to. "I don't know? An idiot? These rivers go on for miles, so if you _were_ going to go around then there was no point to begin with." She answered, hoping that at least this would make things better. "Look, I don't want to argue with you, and I don't mean to offend when I say this but- I don't exactly... trust those who come from that place."

A relief it was for Ethine when Ida softened, "Ethine, we never intened to walk around. Knowing our river back home we had some feeling this river would be stubborn to let us through. But we go through anyways because we need to. You may not know this but we had a family back home before all of this happened, we've been separated and now we need to find each other. I just wish we see them again soon." Before Ida continued, Ethine pondered what it must've been like for them, _perhaps they had a nice home, all peaceful with only nature's calling in the morning_ she thought. "I know you may not know us to the best of your interests, but I hope we can work together for as long as possible. We could really use your help along the way."

Pointing in Libby's direction, the two watched as the young Apatosaur struggled to build the second half of the bridge. "We may seem weak at first, and yes, we've found it impressive to make it this far, and perhaps you can see one day that we do have strengths..." Almost at that instant Libby had found a faster, and actually a much safer way to build the rest of the bridge. Ethine couldn't believe it, "It's been a tough time for me as well. I don't think any of us out there know exactly happened on that day - I heard there were reports about a team seeing what went down. This event changed us all in some ways. I guess I could tag along with you further than the borders."

Right when Ida was about to help Libby finish the bridge, she walked back to Ethine "What borders?". A mental sigh came out as she had to explain. "Up north from here there are two borders, pass both of them and you have a good chance of getting home in no time. Just... don't mention-"

"Clawtooth Mountain, we get it. I'm still not sure what the significance of the place is. For me and Henry it was just a quiet place to settle down." Ida said so defensively of the place, it was her home, she had every right to wonder what meaning it had to those outside. Ethine had to take an actual step back in surprise. "You mean to tell me I was right about you actually not knowing?" What did they not know exactly, both of them asked themselves, before glancing at each other and knowing they thought the same thing. "Not know what exactly?" Ida asked, a wave of curiosity spreading across her face.

Ethine opened her mouth to speak up "It's done!" Libby shouted, interjecting whatever Ethine was meant to say. Testing out the bridge involved Libby jumping back and fourth across it, forcing Ida and Ethine to travel across in case Libby broke it. Finally crossing the river, it was now easier to see where they were travelling to, apparently a couple of mountains near the horizon that were silhouetted by the setting sun.

"Ethine you good?"

Libby stopped in her tracks, looking behind to see Ethine staring at... something, while Ida was trying to find whatever caught their companion's attention. A second sun seemed to be slowly rising, made apparent by its wide glow that the sun would usually make before you see-

Reminded of the last time she saw something similar, she had to double check to make sure the same thing wasn't about to happen. Apart from the glow there really was nothing else happening. A blur rushed past, almost colliding with Libby if she hadn't been caught off guard. "Ethine wait up!" Ida yelled as she followed, sprinting as fast as she could. All that Libby could do was to also follow and see what the comotion was about.

* * *

Night fell on them pretty quickly, but the glow in the distance seemed to be getting closer to them. Along with it, an ever more intense heat seemed to radiate, and the sounds of trees falling and burning could be heard. At the foot of the mountain they could start to see what had happened to the forest, but wouldn't begin to imagine how far this event had spread until they had gotten to the top and looked back. All that was below them had been engulfed by a wave of fire, marching from the north, it had come to where they were before at an accelarated speed. It had taken almost 5 weeks, but even the slowest of features can make it around the planet with enough time.

That thought alone had made Ethine worry, nothing could stop this, and who knows how many didn't see it coming until it was too late. Fortunately the wind allowed the burning smell to travel far enough for her to sense, before it was too late to escape the now dying forest. But everything was much better for the three, all the while they were exhasted from the climb, it was certainly worth it in the end. This side of the mountains was notably smoother than the side they climbed, more akin to a slanted plateau than a mountain, giving them an easy break from travelling up and down extreme slopes while the forest fire passed below.

Finding a good clearing void of any trees was the upmost relief to the trio, as they layed down to rest. By morning they had awoken to the same, but re-skinned landscape, which had changed colours from a dark green to a dirt brown colour. Now fully rested, the journey down the plateau was certainly quicker than expected, and finding the river that led back down to the plains was at best a sign of good luck. Now working more as a team they had set out across the barren landscape, making sure to follow the river and, every now and then, build a bridge to cross it.

But the topic of Clawtooth surprisingly never came up during the commute, despite the odd mention of it from Ida and Libby, Ethine didn't seem to expand upon any outside knowledge of the place. On occasion she would mention that no one had gone there and stayed, no one seemed to even dare go and stay there. This alone brought up an interesting point for Ida. _Did Henry know about this?_ Ida thought, it was a valued question too, had Henry known all this time that there was something about Clawtooth that made everyone not want to go to it. It made sense why it was so quiet there now.

At the same time, another thought came through. _Does he think I know about Clawtooth?_ If he didn't know of anything behind the mountains, then what chances were there that he would suspect she knew something. They had both led each other to the place, so she could only imagine what he was thinking right now.

"So Ethine, how was things before all this happened?" Ida wanted to glare at Libby for breaking the silence, but at this point, a conversation a day didn't hurt. Sighing, she added "Did you have a family that you miss?".

Without even a quick glance at the two, Ethine gave them their answer. "Hardly, I left my parents a long time ago, I felt that Oykot was too much for me at the time so thought I'd go somewhere south. I found this pretty large town and stayed there most of my life. There was one guy from over there that allowed me to stay with him, I think his name was Negeb or something lik- Negev that's it! Anyways, I left there not too long after all this happened. I wanted to go back to Oykot, it's the safest place you can be. But I think many are finding it diffucult to find food easily, as you saw with the rustlers as they're called."

"I see..." Ida nodded, while Libby had more questions. "What was Negev like?"

Noticing a smile grow across Ethine's face, Libby was at least somewhat glad of what ever the responce was. "He was like you guys actually, though more of a brown colouring - dark brown blobs on the top and a lighter beige sort of colour on the underside of the neck and body. He had these nice purpleish blue eyes- oh and a set of small protrusions that ran from the back of his head all the way down his neck and if you touched them just a little...ah the fun times we had back then. He'd do stuff to wind me up and I did it back, it was just sort of a thing we did..."

"...If you had the chance to of met him, ah I bet you three would get along so nicely. He's nice to everyone, though we'd have to gloss over the whole mountain thing. Other than that, he's so wholesome to anyone who crosses his path. One time, someone wanted a map of Oykot, but kept getting the requested sizes of the maps wrong. Turns out he only wanted one that was knee-high, but that one guy had given about twenty or so different sizes, and it wasn't even for Oykot itself in the end, just the stuff beneath it or something along those lines. He was always good with finding the right things to trade, how he managed to do it no matter who turned up is beyond me..." Her smile, over time, warped into a deep frown as she seemingly went off in deep thought.

A new set of mountains gradually grew over the horizon, this leading to a decision of whether to climb the mountains or to go around them. While Ida wanted to go around, Ethine thought it was easier to get past the mountains. "I keep telling you Ida, if we go around then we'll arrive at the coast, we'd have to go over the mountains anyways."

"And I'm saying that we can just swim around them."

" _Swim around them?_ Ha! You're trying to pull me leg aren't ya? You'd freeze to death before you can get half way over to the other side."

While the two kept going back and fourth, Libby spectated the whole thing, before looking at the mountains. Sure, they had gone over mountains before, more than once even before they met Ethine, but apparently this was a much larger area - a range of mountain ranges. "I have someth-"

"Not now Libby. Ethine, please understand where we're..." Trying to get their attention nicely wasn't enough by the looks of it. A nearby tree had been badly burnt, but nonetheless served as a fitting tool for Libby. Pushing as hard as she could against the tree seemed useless at first, until remembering a trick she saw Henry teaching Buck about... Libby pulled herself away from getting too focused about the past and whipped the tree with her tail as fast as she possibly could, cutting a neat chunk out of the tree.

With each small creak the tree made it tilted towards the two, gaining momentum with each passing second, until it was fast enough for Ida to notice. "Look out!" She pushed Ethine and herself out of the way as the tree narrowly missed, slamming into the ground and lifting up a ton of dust and soot. Both of the adult dinosaurs looked over to where the tree used to be, to find Libby balancing on the stump while staring at the two with a massive grin. "Libby! You could've-"

"Will you two both stop bickering, I know of a compromise!" Libby interruped, voicing over Ida's already strict, raised tone. Seeing Libby take control over the three, even for a moment, brought a surprised smile from Ethine. "Go on then, what is it?" her voice lowered, purposfully giving Libby the right to make the call. "What if we do what momma says- first! Until we find a clear way up, following Ethine. How does that sound?"

Watching Ida and Ethine look at each other with bewilderment seemed almost amusing to Libby. "You know? You would make a great team leader Libby. I think we can work with that, right?", "Oh yes yes, I'm proud of you for coming up with something we didn't, my daughter." They watched as she perked up in excitement, probably from accomplishing something at least somewhat significant for the progress of the journey. Perhaps things may not be so bad from this moment forward.

* * *

 ** _Audio Message #17: Subject Members 4 and 6 - aka Ida and Libby, has travelled 973 miles (1565 Km's)_** ** _. A stronger relationship is better than a broken one, at least they're more open to one another. The subject of Clawtooth Mountain remains elusive around those who aren't the apatosaur family, and I too and eager to know what's going on. Perhaps when the subject is finally explained may thing make sense around here, though I doubt it'll be anytime soon before a clear answer is given, who knows? Their survival score has been raised now to a 4.2 out of 5 (0 being dead and 5 being perfectly alive/healthy)._**

 _ **End of message.**_

* * *

 **A/N: I'm back! Turns out that there wasn't just tests to do, but also a geological field trip to Scotland! It's summer for me now, so hopefully I can start posting more often. If a chapter is not posted during the weekends (British Time), it's either because I'm busy, or have not completed the chapter yet. Perhaps I should write them in advance before getting detailed writers block.  
**

 **Next chapter: Town of Good Fortune  
**

 **Fun Facts: It's been a while since I've done this. It's not related to this chapter specifically, but it's about the journey. Most of their journey has been mapped out on Google Earth, which is why you can plug in the co-ordinates on the top and get an actual location. Along with the time-stamp, one can get a pretty good track record of where anyone is/was at intervals.  
**


	26. Page 26 - Town of Good Fortune

**Location: 3°42'51.16"N. 77°06'24.49"W.**

 **Time since asteroid impact: 2 weeks 6 days  
**

* * *

Although cautious at first, the town they had stumbled upon in the distance had been a huge surprise for the both of them. It's existance and complexity was all new to Buck, while Russel seemed surprised it wasn't abandoned. Actually being inside the settlement turned out to show a lot of new perks. Access to a good supply of water and food being one of the most important ones, and an opportunity to have shelter being another.

The home in question seemed larger than they were first told; a four bedroom, single floor building with a long hallway connecting all the rooms. While it wasn't anything too cosy like the old homestead was for Buck, it at least provided a sense of good fortune. Apparently the name ofthe town meant 'good fortune' in its own language, though Buck deemed it too hard to pronounce.

"And this here is where you can notify any nearby individuals if you are unwell." The guide said, making sure both Russel and especially Buck knew the concept behind most of what the town had, the three were in a room with a number of levers, each labelled for a different request. "I believe that concludes all the things you need to know about this house. If you need me for anything, I'm on the building to the right of the market." As the lime green dryosaur left the building, both Russel and Buck had started to contemplate what they were doing.

"Why is it exactly we're staying here?" if Buck knew how to raise a single brow when asking, he would've done at that moment. "Like I said before Buck, we're here until I can get us a good map to the borders, one which can give us a clue as of the fastst and safest way to there. I could try to find us another map to..." He seemed to trail off, but brought himself back up "I doubt there's a map for that. Perhaps a map of the area near there could help. But I don't think-"

Before Russel could continue, a loud pair of footsteps moved closer to the room they were in. Putting two and two together, Russel figured that the house already had two individuals in here, meaning whoever was to come into the room was to be their neighbour. A low rumble of a growl echoed from the entrance, before the muzzle of a tyrannosaurus stuck out. "We're not tresspasers, we're just staying here for a while?" Russel called out, "I believe you are our uh... room friends?"

Eventually, someone from behind the tyrannosaur must've pushed them into the room, as they suddenly came in in a surprised manner. "Nash! You know better than to push me in front of guests. Besides, _boundaries_ remember?" The one in front said, no doubt that she was the sister to this Nash, who had also come into the room. "You think that's your bubble? Ha! _This_ is your bubble!" Almost instantly Nash tacked his sister down onto the ground. How they didn't cause any damage in the room was something neither Buck nor Russel could answer.

"Ahem, if you can allow us to speak, I think we'd like to intoduce ourselves." Russel announced, allowing time for the two to stop play-fighting. "Sorry, my brother Nash here can be a little immature. But no, it's me who's _"too serious"_ aroun' here."

"But Ramsey, sis. You never have any fun!" Nash protested, almost ready to get into what looked to be another argument.

"STOP!"

Everyone went silent as none expected Buck to shout. "I'm Buck, and my friend here is Russel. We're on our way to- to the borders up north." Having to stop himself from saying 'Clawtooth Mountain' he could see the sigh of relief from Russel. A concerned look drew across the tyrannosaurs, "The borders up north yo' say? Me and Nash here know the way, if you wish for us to take you there."

"That's quite fine of you two, but me and Buck here were gonna look for a map to get up there ourselves." Russel felt kind of guilty having to decline their offer, but at least they didn't take it the hard way. "Ooo, there's not a map for that around here. You'll have to wait for the map exchange day, which is... how many days is that Ramsey."

Seeing the eye roll Ramsey make gave sort of a hint that this wasn't the first, nor the last time Nash asked about something regarding dates. "It's about fourty-six days from now. Finding a map to the borders would be much slower than just going there now..." Without any reason, Ramsey shifted her gaze at Buck, taking a good look about him. "...Unless, the borders isn't where you're going to?" Buck flashed a sign of worry, slow enough for her to confirm her gut feeling but not too slow for Russel to also notice.

Instead Russel went along with the question, "You got us, we're heading to Oykot but before that we need to get to the borders first." Russel fakely admitted, not knowing that they already saw through his lie. "Hey Nash, he said it! You hear that?", "Yeah, they're heading to Oykot!" They soon started jumping up and down, causing the whole room to start shaking. When they finished havning their fun, they continued. "Sorry about that, it's just... It's been so long since we've heard of Oykot. Me and Nash wish to go there, but the border won't let us go through. It's frustrating too, since we know our dad's still over there, we wish to just see him again soon."

Buck soon spoke up from the silence "I miss my family too, we were split from each other after... does it even have a name?"

"We don't have a widespread name for it, the most popular right now seems to be 'the mountain that came from above', due to reports of a large crater north from the borders." Nash helped out, allowing Buck to continue.

"Thank you, after the mountain that came from above... came down, we were split apart, and I haven't seen them since. I'm trying to get back to them, and Russel here tagged along for... why _did_ you tag along with me?" Buck had asked, catching Russel off guard, "Well I mean, with you travelling out there by yourself, it wouldn't be easy for you to actually make it back home. As for me, I have my own reasons for travelling to Oykot."

The next voice startled both of them, "Being?" as they had almost forgotten of the Tyrannosaurs' presense in the room. "I uuuh, I was appointed at Oykot to help out those who were lost, someone was missing and I had to get them, but then a large wave struck the place I was at and was swept out to sea. Next thing I know I was stumbling trying to get up when Buck found me." Russel explained, surprising Buck. For Buck, it seemed counter intuitive that Russel asked if he knew where Clawtooth was when they first met, if he had just wanted to get to Oykot which was beyond it. _Something is up with him_ Buck thought confidently.

Ramsey was the next to speak up "Well, that explains quite a bit. Watch'a say Nash, wanna head to Clawtooth Mountain with them?" Almost immediately Buck and Russel gasped, having realised their thin cover was blown. "What, you didn't think we'd see that you weren't willing to talk about it I guess. I can tell you Buck have been told not to mention it, so we can at least applaude you for not mentioning it up until we figured it out."

"How _did_ you figure it out anyways?" Buck asked, earning a small chuckle from the two. "Your face looked so guilty when we mentioned you two going beyond the borders, only Clawtooth could give that sort of reaction to someone who doesn't completely understand such a place."

Buck humphed, "Doesn't completely understand such a place? I've lived there my _whole life!_ " He knew that there was something about the place he must've not be told, why else would anyone act like this around the name? "You may have lived there, but nothing has true meaning without the _context_." Russel backed up, now Buck was mentally in a corner.

All three of them knew something he didn't. And what of his parents, did they know something about home that he didn't? His siblings, did they know? "For now though, we'll help find you two a map to Clawtooth Mountain, you'll still have to stay here until the map exchange until then." Nash reassured, with Ramsey adding "Don't worry about us telling anyone around here, your secrets are safe with us." While eyeing Russel directly.

* * *

The days leading up to the map exchange came and went without much notice, Buck and Russel by now had found their ways around the whole town, while also socialising with Ramsey and Nash more. Chores were still a leading role throughout the days, and the Tyrannosaurs were surprised about how much Buck could do in the matter of half a day. Food shortages were the most talked-about topic in the small community, with a growing concern over how the more carnivorous members would be fed.

This turned out not to be a worry for Buck's new friends, as they had already switched to a fish-based diet; apparently in growing supply. For Buck the concern of food shortages wasn't about what he would do, there was still enough food - berries and fruit and all sorts, and he'd only need a large meal every week. No the concern was regarding the rest of his family. The best case scenario he could think of would be that they had all be swept to Oykot, he'd been told that would be the safest place with the most diverse food supply. However when it came to the worst case scenario, he just wouldn't want to imagine it.

"You okay Buck?" For once, Russel's voice came as reassuring, knowing that a close friend was concerned about him. "I'm fine Russel, just thinking about the others."

"Your family huh?" Buck nodded in response, "I see, care to tell me more about them?" Even now Buck had all but told him of his family, using only vague information as answers before. "Where do I even begin? Libby? She was great to be around, clever sister too. She'd always find a way to make someone else to do her chores without them realising. Once, she had to water the crops across the farm, but instead had me do it by squirting me and having me spraw where ever she popped out of the corn. By the time I was out of water her job was already done, and I still had my job to do!" Russel couldn't help but laugh with Buck, so far his family seemed really good, despite having only heard of one member in detail.

Continuing on, Buck spoke once again, "Momma was also cunning, but only to Poppa and not around any of us. She made sure we had fun and did out fair share of work. I'm not sure if it was her or not, but one time when me and Libby were arguing, I got hit by a pebble from nowhere and assumed Libby threw it. That... was a rough day for sure. I had another sister named Verena, who Poppa told me was born along side Arlo, I never knew what that meant. Anyways, Verena was someone really special. Making sure I didn't get into trouble, along with helping Arlo out-"

"With what? If I'm correct, you'd make a good tree-cutter, and Libby makes for a great plower and waterer. I'm going to guess your momma strips the corn down, and poppa... carries the corn over to some storage place?"

Buck confirmed his guessing, adding that they had a silo for the corn. "Right, well in that case, what job exactly did Arlo have?", "I believe for a while he had to provide food to the chickens in the pen we had."

Russel grew more confused hearing the information "A pen of chickens? What purpose do those serve you?" At this moment, it took Buck a while to think about it, "Fertilizer? Anyways we're digressing from the topic. Arlo was always afraid of the chickens, he kept running so far poppa had to keep him for running straight into the river. I may have teased him a few times, but they got me good one time."

"Oh, do tell..." Russel edged him on, noticing a slight change in mood on Buck.

"We've got the map!" Ramsey shouted as they came back into the building. "It took a lot of convincing, but there's a detailed map right to Clawtooth! You wanna go now or...?" Buck and Russel glanced once more to each other, now ever more glad that they had met these two.

* * *

 ** _Audio Message #18: Subject Member 5 - aka Buck, has travelled 742 miles (1194 Km's). Their newfound friends have given them a much needed guidence to reaching Clawtooth, all the while allowing them to keep their secrets safe. His survival score is at a 4.5 out of 5._**

 _ **End of message.**_

* * *

 **AN: N/A  
**

 **Next chapter: Enflamed Farms  
**


	27. Page 27 - Enflamed Farms

**Location: 34°09'01.48"S. 70°44'23.43"W.**

 **Time since asteroid impact: 1 month 6 days  
**

* * *

It took a really long time for everything to process what had happened. One moment he was talking to someone who lived somewhere unfathomable, and the next Henry was back at Negev's. Why Negev's? Why hadn't he been transported back to where he was _before_ like the last time. Too many things didn't make sense. The map especially - he figured he went to another world - making that three worlds including his own: one that looked to be everything like his own except with no disasterous events occuring, and another that... he couldn't describe what the world he came from was meant to be.

Was it a completely different world? If so why were some features of the map so similar, the coastlines specifically. Observing both maps which had been layed out and pinned down by small pebbles, he read them both for anything else that deemed similar. Rotation, flipping the maps over, or both, he tried everything to make something out of them. By now Henry was so entranced by the maps he hadn't noticed Negev coming out of his home and seeing Henry just lay there.

Carefully, Negev stepped closer, wondering how near he could get to Henry without him noticing. Meanwhile, Henry had started to see a pattern; parts of the map Negev had gave him seemed to align with parts of the one Xela gave him, but he could only manage to fit one part, not all of them. He figured that if he could take the land of Negev's map and combined them into one then it would look similar. And that was just the clue he needed, what ever world Xela was from, it was one where the land had been merged into a single form.

In his process of standing back up, he called out to Spot "Hey Spot, I think I have a solution for the map Xela gave u-AHHH!" he physically jumped upon seeing Negev, who had managed to creep up right next to him without notice. So startled from Negev, Henry had completley lost his footing and fell back onto the granular ground. "Lemme help you back up Henry I'm so sorry for scaring you like that!" Negev splurted out as he rushed over to Henry's side. "Heh, it's fine, I was the one who was carried away." Henry said as he righted himself up, "To be honest, I thought you were going to say something along the lines of why I've come back."

"I was going to ask you that, seeing as the last time we met you were so determined to get back to your home." Henry could feel Negev doing his best not to mention the name of his home. "I wish I could tell you why I'm here." Henry replied, starting to make his way back home. Negev soon caught up and stopped him from going further. "You mean to tell me that you have no idea why you're here?" Henry nodded, "In that case, I can at least offer you a small stay here to be refreshed."

Although satisfied with the offer, Henry still wouldn't wait to go back. "As much as I like to be here, I really need to get back to my family." Before he could leave however, Negev blocked his path again. "But what if the same thing happens. You must of covered some kind of distance in the time since I last saw you. If this keeps going on you might never get to see your family without constantly arriving here... If you want, I can help you figure out what's going on."

For Henry, this was odd coming from someone who last time turned him away. When pointing this out, Negev explained, "Look, the place you come from is a sign of bad luck, possibly more than that. Many don't wish to be involved with it at all, which is why the only maps I give out for free are those that show the place. Not even sure what someone would have use for a map like that. Anyways I digress, I wish to be helpful to anyone that needs it, but at the same time I also don't want to be near anything that involves those mountains. That's why you were a conundrum to me."

"I suppose that means you found a uh... 'solution', then?"

Negev breathed in and out deeply before continuing "Since it's quite clear you didn't know about all this, and since so far you've had no ill intentions, I guess I can make an exception, so long as we don't talk about the name I believe I'm fine with you coming inside. Come on, lets figure out what's happening to you." Taking a calm pace inside, Henry got the chance to look around the home more, and noticed that this was more of a place where two, not one indivuduals resided.

His thoughts were confirmed when finding a rough sketch of what he supposed was the other that lived here. Needless to say he didn't expect someone like her to be around here. "That's Ethine, if you were wondering." Negev spoke up, clearly noticing Henry's long gaze at the sketching. "She lived here with you?" Henry turned to Negev with a brow raised. "What? Let me guess, you weren't grown up in a place where those who had farms and those who had livestock lived along side one another?"

Henry shook his head, giving Negev the time to explain. "Ethine came down here from Oykot, we met and I allowed her to stay in. So much fun we had while we had each others company. Messing around, pulling pranks... heh, you should've seen it when I gave her the wrong list of what to do for the day. She wouldn't stop bringing it up for goodness knows how long! Teasing her about reaching things from the high shelf was my specialty, since those like you and I can just reach them with our necks, she and her small arms couldn't grab hold of much, if you needed to tick her off for a moment, that was the best way to do it."

By now they were resting in one of the larger rooms, a medium sized table in the middle surrounded by a couple of thick logs covered in leaves. Henry proceeded to tell Negev about both events that had happened to him, starting off with the non-eventful world and ending with the merged-land world. Strangely, the latter caught Negev's attention, as fixated on what Henry told as a kid being read a bed time story. When he finished, it seemed forever for both of them to take the information in fully.

"So this map she gave you, you said it wasn't the only one she had?" Negev questioned. While looking at the maps once more Henry replied, "No, apparently a lot changes around there, and since communication is slow they tend to update them frequently. I believe this is the latest version she gave me. What do you make of it?" he could feel Negev was hiding something, confirmed when he saw the hesitation across his face.

Eventually it seemed that Negev gave in, as he let out a long sigh "Alright. This map appears to be Nyasasaurian." Henry opened his mouth to speak but didn't say anything. "A long time ago, we found the remains of what used to be a previous civilisation. Not much is known about it, however one thing that remains consistent is that at some point it was threatened, and nearly destroyed. Whatever it was, they had buried it under a mountain, making sure no one could ever find it by accident. We believe that Clawtooth Mountain _is_ the mountain mentioned, which is why we implemented a cultural knowledge to deem the place bad for anyone who goes near. At least, that's what I was told..."

He paused, focusing his attention on the other map Henry brought back, "...but this, this map. It could count as the most preserved piece of what used to be the Nyasasaurian Empire. It's value would be priceless if that's the case. However, I cannot confirm at this moment that it's what it is. I could bring down my books on the subject but it might take a while."

"I wouldn't mind really, I've got nothing much else to do anyways. Though I feel so tired." Negev cocked his head slightly to the side "What do you mean, didn't you get some rest just before you encounted the possible Nyasasaurian world? It's still day as well." Henry on the other hand had already layed down on the floor, half awake. "Yeah... but I guess I didn't have... enough..." As his words slowed near the end, Negev could tell that he wasn't kidding. Right now he had to get those books and see if there was something else that could connect it all. Fortunately, he and Henry weren't the only ones in the home.

Turning to the small companion, Negev had wondered... "It's Spot, right?" Spot immediately faced the sauropod, who sighed in relief. "Would you like to help me out? I could really use it to save time."

* * *

After what appeared to be a quarter of the day, Negev and Spot had placed a numerous pile of books on the table the map was on also. Spot had just gotten down the last of the books while Negev had only read through half of the collection, making sure not to wake Henry up by carefully placing all of the read books in a pile for Spot to put back. "I'm sorry you have to put them back Spot, I'm just not sure if I can find anything." Negev muttered to himself while scanning through book after book.

He had tried everything, from the speculated cultures to artifacts found that could've related to them. Almost nothing came close to a connection. That is, until he looked into the theories part of the collection; a part that talked about what may of happened during then and now, and on one of the pages a small sketch came up. The sketch itself comprised of three maps: one for the present day, another for what could've been the world at the time of the Nyasasaurian civilisation, and another that was a mix of the two, an inbetween map.

Up until this point, there had still be a shadow of a doubt. The places Henry had been to sounded more like alternate worlds where stuff in the past happened differently, at least that was the vibe he got from the world of the other farm. But this changed that, it dawned on Negev that the land simply moved around during long periods of time, colliding and splitting apart. More stuff came out from this, since the Nyasasaurian map contained many mountain ranges he could imply that the lands had came together, meaning that they were once split apart.

A picture of a world that contained a cycle of collision and splitting emerged, how many times had this happen before he couldn't understand but answers did come from this. He could confirm the existence of the Civilisation up until this point, with how much and what was contained within their empire if he could translate the text. And that also raised another point, if the text was in a language different from that of his, then the spoken language must also be different, so how did Henry communicate without problem?

Questions came with the answers, Negev felt as if he had made an important discovery that could change the view on both the current world and the past world. At the same time however the questions really didn't help. But, that wasn't the point of all this, Negev knew he had to tell Henry as soon as possible. A small tug came from his left, looking down to see Spot pointing in a direction away from the table. Following the direction he arrived at Henry, still slumbering away without much noise to distract Negev, and he appreciated that. "Okay then Spot, lets wake him u-" He had to stop his words when he realised where _exactly_ Spot had pointed to.

Negev had been focused on waking Henry up, but until now hadn't seen that a section near the bottom of his front left leg had started to glow. And not just glowing, a wave of a brighter glow seemed to move around the section, like someone wrapping a bandage on a wound. Negev could no longer come up with a logical conclusion. "Have you seen this before Spot?" Spot didn't appear to have heard him at first glance, that or he didn't understand the question. "I'm going to assume that this only happens when he supposedly goes to the other places. I guess it happening when he's asleep explains why he didn't tell me about this. Surely he must see it on the other side though."

Negev had been talking to himself at this point, if this was indeed the sign of him being at another place right now, then it would be best not to wake him up. But if this was the precursor to it happening... this had been the second time now Negev had been conflicted, though he was starting to like the challenge of figuring it out - a proper conundrum. The wave of the brighter glow had begun to accelerate, indicating this would be the precursor. Spot pointed to Henry, which Negev took as a signal to wake him up. One more thought crossed his mind at that point.

According to Henry, Spot too had come with him, though only on the latter time. But still, there was at least half a chance Negev could directly experience what things were like. With that in mind, he stopped Spot from waking him up, not bothering to explain due to Spot most likely not understanding. On each passing moment he could see and almost hear the acceleration, to a point where he felt uncomfortable to be near it. _Surely Henry could feel this right now?_ Negev thought, out of nowehere a flash appeared and dissapeared.

They were no longer in his home, the soft grassy ground made sure to tell them. Scanning the landscape, Negev could start to get his senses as to where he was. "Crops... berry trees too... uuuh..." He trailed off upon seeing the multiple homesteads Henry decribed earlier, made with stone walls and a log-based roof. He could see the two silos nearby, and well as the cattle resting beyond. And then he saw them, the very things described to him throughout his life but with no chance of seeing.

"Clawtooth Mountain..." Negev spoke slowly, fully grasping their shear size and proximity to the farm. He knew Henry's farm in their world wasn't like this one, more basic and with no tyrannosaurs. Speaking of which, Spot had once again gotten his attention and pointed towards what would've been the tyrannosaurus homestead Henry described. However the homestead was partially blocked by something that was in the way.

The full Moon must of come out from the clouds completely at this point, as the silhouette of every object had gained a pale white outline. The object blocking in question turned out to be a large, makeshift statue of Henry possibly built by the rest of the inhabitants here. Looking closer, more specifcally off to the right, someone with a similar shape to the statue seemed to be standing next to it, possibly looking directly at Negev.

Not wanting to be a tresspasser, Negev attempted to talk to whoever was over there. "Hello? You might be confused as to who me and my friends here are. I'm Negev, this critter is Spot and him over there is..." Talking one more look as to where Henry was before they arrived here, he was still in a deep slumber, much to his concern. "...Henry." He finished, looking back to where the stranger was Negev startled to find that he had moved much closer without so much as making a single noise on the ground.

Now could Negev see more of the stranger, a sense of extreme deja vu washed over him as he then looked back at Henry, before darting to the stranger and repeating a couple more times. The stranger had started to fixate his gaze at Henry's direction when Negev tried to explain the situation. "He's Henry, but not the Henry around here." Waiting for at least a responce, the stranger simply cocked his head to the side. "Quiet one huh?" Negev muttered, before speaking up, "This may sound confusing, but for whatever reason, Henry keeps travelling between my world and this one. I uh, hope you can understand that."

"What a cold and cruel fate for someone like him, to be eternally trapped in a loop between the best of three worlds. What is, what could've been, and what happened." Negev physically shivered upon hearing the voice finish. The deja vu weared off and he understood why he had it in the first place. The stranger in front of him appeared to be related to the Henry in the world they were now in. "But it is warm and blistful compared to the fate my Henry has sealed himself into." the stranger finished, before a small muttering could be heard from inside the tyrannosaur homestead.

Negev thought about running away from the place, but the stranger didn't appear to be phased by the muttering, indicating that it wasn't the tyrannosaurs. _Someone else is with him!_ Negev realised, now curious as to who was inside the large home. "You don't belong here, do you?" Negev asked, he almost felt guilty of saying it, as he could easily see that sentence being read in a passive agressive way. "No more than you belong here, Negev. But I find it amusing that you believe this conversation to be negotiable." A small sign of disgust lured in the last part, forcing Negev to think twice to understand the intentions of this stranger.

"If you are not welcomed here by these residents, why are you here exactly?" Negev expected him to answer properly, but got back a childish answer "I could say the same thing to you, you know." Having to regain his compusure, he prepared for any other snarky comments this one could throw at him next. "We came here by accident, we did not mean to arrive at this place at this time. You however have made a conscious decision to arrive here, so I'll ask again, why have you arrived at this place without notice at this time?"

He could almost try to understand whatever this stranger was thinking, but every now and then he seemed to change on the inside, something else about him was wrong. Looking down slightly, Negev noticed that embedded on the stranger's right leg was a small, purple-ish rock about the size of a human palm. "I see you have noticed the obvious, finally."

"You're changing the subject without answering my question." Negev spat, for the first time he had found someone that he just simply couldn't like or even relate to.

"And what does my answer matter to you anyways? You are not the 'residents' of this homestead, you come from another place that is otherwise irrelevent to whatever happens here. Anything that I do is out of your business." the stranger responded, uncannily calm.

"If you do anything of ill intention to these individuals then I hold responsibility to help them by at least avoiding it from happening in the first place. Whether I'm meant to be here or not. You cannot deny that." Feeling confident, he was ready for what this stranger was to say, but instead a loud roar came from the tyrannosaurus homestead. At first it seemed like a saving grace, someone else to hopefully get this stranger away, but then the roar was cut off by a loud thud - loud enough for Negev to hear but not enough to really waken anyone up.

Negev now had nothing on his side, if he tried to wake anyone up then whoever friend of this stranger could come up and do to him what happened to the tyrannosaurus. A faint, shimmering light started to grow inside the homestead behind the stranger, making things more difficult. He could tell by the smell that a fire had been started, but he couldn't just weeve around them to stop it. Something about the stranger seemed more like a carnivore than just a witty sauropod. Everything that felt wrong seemed to be pointing at the rock that embedded the strangers leg, prompting Negev to come up with a new idea as to who this was.

At last, the stranger produced a wide smile, too wide for Negev's comfort. By now, the farm that the tyrannosaurs were in was now half engulfed in flames, spreading over to the tail of the makeshift statue. "All you need to know, Negev, is that my Henry has a debt to repay. So..." At this point he edged closer, allowing Negev to see all the scars and vein-like trails of dried up blood across his face and neck. "If you ever do see my Henry, tell him this, and this only. _You can try to run, but we'll be there. You can try to hide, but we'll be there. You can't escape - we'll be there. Keep running, we'll still be there._ " the stranger's personality had only darkened, Negev couldn't find a difference between the one standing in front of him and a cold hearted murderer.

With most of what he thought confirmed, he still had no idea on what to do. Suddenly, a howl came from below Negev, Spot most likely, and seemed to echo from the mountains. Negev also noticed that they had started to fade, not by much, but noticable enough. He found a way out of here, looking behind he saw the homestead Henry described that his family resided, so without hesitation Negev made a 180 turn on the spot and slammed as hard as he could into the homestead without knocking it down. After which, he made sure that anyone not awake from that would do so, he ejected out a tremendous roar loud enough to make the ground vibrate around him.

The last thing he saw was someone rushing out of the homestead. He didn't care who it was, he was just glad someone else could solve it while he, Spot and Henry arrived back where they were before. In that moment, Henry lept off the floor in fright from the roar "Are you trying to kill me by frightening me Negev? Because if so you're doing a fantastic job of doing so!".

"I beg to disagree, you're not dead right? I see I've done a terrible job at doing so." Negev grinned, figuing that this could at least distract him. "Spot, you know why he roard me half to death?" Henry pleaded, the only answer had been Spot looking at Negev and back to Henry, not much of a help. "I'm serious Negev, I never expected you to do something like that. Something must've happened for you to..."

Henry had once again trailed off, Negev figured that he had an idea as to what happened. "It happened again didn't it?" Negev and Spot proceeded to nod, Spot's involvement in answering surprising Henry a little. "Where did we go to this time?"

"The world that could've been, the homestead. Except with something else too." Henry cocked his head much like the stranger did, making Negev shiver a little. "Please don't do that Henry."

"Someone was at the farm?" Perplexed seemed to be an understatement, but whatever Negev was holding back, it wouldn't last much longer. Letting out a long groan Negev responded "Yeah... I think we may have encountered The First One".

* * *

 ** _Audio Message #19: Subject Member 3 - aka Henry, has travelled 0 miles (0 Km's)_** ** _. Henry may not know it, but I believe Negev has a good idea on what is currently happening. While I'm not too sure about what The First One is, I suspect that with all else that's happened, it's connected to the Nyasasaurian civilization. I think this won't be the last time we'll see these other worlds. Their survival score has been set to a 4 out of 5 (0 being dead and 5 being perfectly alive/healthy)._**

 _ **End of message.**_

* * *

 **A/N: I may not get the next chapter in tomorrow, as I'm expected to watch The Lion King remake, I'll see if I can get most of it done and posted by Monday. Anyways, as you may have noticed this chapter was significantly longer than the usual chapters I post. This is because for some reason I planned a lot more of the later side of the story than the beginning. While the beginning had some key elements (that are still a mystery so far), I paradoxically planned the solutions before the problems.  
**

 **Currently I'm expecting this story to finish in the 40s, though I tend to adjust things if I feel like the pacing goes off. I will do my best to fix these problems by writing the story _before_ posting them, that way I can proof read them better and get rid of spelling mistakes easier.**

 **Also, happy 50th anniversary of the moon landing! One small step for man...**

 **Next chapter: One Leap to the Border  
**

 **Fun Facts: Chapters like this one contain information that will be needed in the future.  
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	28. Page 28 - One Leap to the Border

**Location: 0°16'08.68"N. 75°48'18.44"W.**

 **Time since asteroid impact: 1 month 2 weeks 1 day**

* * *

For the trio, Libby's idea of combining the two plans had payed off. Although there were indeed more rivers to traverse across, working as a team allowed the process of crossing even wide rivers easier. The lowered light with each passing day didn't help, as with every step they could feel the earth become cold and barren. Moving parallel to the mountains in search of a river upwards took longer than what they thought, as everything appeared closer with less visability. Eventually one such passage opened into view, albeit with little room on the sides to walk across.

Arriving at a shallow, bowel-shaped valley revealed to them the extent of how much damage had been inflicted upon the places closer by to the events that unfolded more than a month and a half ago. Boulders that did not belong littered the othwerwise flat plains, each rock filled with bubble-like gaps within. Colours between them varied, some dark and coarse while others were lighter and finer. Rarely, they would encounter small pebbles that had a glassy look, giving a translucant effect.

Though amazed by these rocks at first, the commonness of said stones had proven to be mundane after a good few moments of walking past them.

Small buildings, or at least the torn remains of them, had also come into view. The only way they could tell they weren't natural were the clean cuts in the rocks used, any wood or hay in such buildings had long since burnt to dust. And although Libby was curious to look inside, Ida made sure to stray her path from looking inside, in case someone had once lived there.

Especially on the decent back down, the changing difference in air pressure had gotten to larger two of the three so much that they had to bend their heads as far down as they could while still walking. Libby had to do her best not to get in their direct way in case they trip over her, instead tailing behind them proved more effective. Large towns ablaze acted as beacons of light to guide them across the land, making sure to find food along the way. Even through food-deprived areas, there were still at least small pockets of trees for Ida and Libby to eat, and grubs for Ethine to munch on.

Soon enough, they had arrived at a small city half-covered in soot and ash. While Ida and Libby slowly made their way, Ethine talked to locals every now and then to get tidbits of information on the current events of the settlement they were in, as well as beyond.

"Right you two, so from what I gathered there appears to be a shortage in meat-based food including fish, but good news is there's a place for you two to have a good meal. You wanna go?" Ethine called out, Ida and Libby exchanged glances before walking to her at a slower-than-usual pace. "Ethine, me and Libby... we're just a little concerned about you." Ida spoke in a motherly fashion, the other two taking notice.

Scoffing, Ethine retorted "Why are you concerned about me? I'm fine!" in a light-hearted tone. Ida certainly wasn't going to buy that "One like you who has barely eaten a proper meal in more than a few days should be a concern to anyone, especially their friends." Libby looked up to her mother barring a smile on her face, then looked back at their companion. "I said I'm fine. We can stop between the borders, there's a larger place there where there's bound to be more food for my liking." Ethine had spoken more bitterly, but they could easily see what was under the thin cover it was.

"Ethine, as a mother I wish to ensure that no one gets left behind when it comes to simple needs, that includes food for one thing. I'm sure Libby can agree with me that you'll need food soon. We should be all concerned for each other-"

"I am concerned about you two too, why else would I let you know of the food you can now eat?" While Ida attempted to respond, she had to admit that there was truth in her point. "Okay, but when we find more food for you to eat, we'll let you know. Let's go then."

* * *

Their concerns had gotten even more justified as they travelled onward from the city, as Ethine had started to attack on things that weren't actually animals. When asked, Ethine would tell them that she was messing with them, but this too got repetetive to the point where they started to feel uncomfortable every time she looked at them more than an instant.

Fortunately, they had found a small beach to stop by that had an accumulation of fish on the shore. Though the smell was to putrid for Ida and Libby to venture any closer, they allowed Ethine to have her meal. As they spectated, they could see just how chaotic things must've been. On a small vantage point they soon found that more than just fish were laying around the coast. Ida had to quickly stop Libby from looking any more after hearing her faint gasp.

Scattered amongst the shingle, the rotting remains of large animals, mostly herbivores, could be seen unmoving with the swaying wash of the waves. A cold thought ringed in Ida, seeing that some of the bodies and skeletons had features similar to theirs. Once Ethine came back, Ida at least could feel better knowing that their friend wasn't hungry any longer. "I saw your expression from over there Ida, and believe me I did check, none of them are your family." Ethine explained.

With confusion written across their faces, Ida had to ask, "How can you tell that?".

"I can smell similarities between you both, none of these bodies possess the same smell. From what I can also tell, is that you two were very lucky not to have been washed up on this coast." Ethine explained, the last part leading to Libby questioning what she had meant by that. No sooner did she, a large aquatic animal jumped out from the water and back in from a nearby part of the sea. "That's why." Ethine explained. "Lets get going, I can tell that you don't want to be around here any longer."

Walking away from the beach, Ethine looked back to the south, wondering if this trip really was worth leaving her former home behind. _I don't have much choice now anyways_ she thought.

One final city came into view, this one packed with individuals of different sizes and shapes. Trying to explain to Ida and Libby over the loud noises around, Ethine shouted "This here is the last place we should stop at, after this is the first of the two borders. We should also get some rest here too if I were you."

"Why are there so many in this small space?" Libby asked, having to carefully shake off some smaller children and explaining that she wasn't a transport for them. "And why does everyone like to climb on us?" She added. "This city here is for those who don't make it past the first border, looks like it's accumulated very quickly after the incident took place to the point where they'll get on anything that can allow them to travel from place to place." Ethine continued to should, Ida and Libby just barely hearing her.

Upon leaving the vicinity of the city, a small hill on the horizon was visible. "Once we get past that, the first border should be in view. And after we get past them, you won't have a thing to worry about for getting back to Clawtooth Mountai-" Ethine quickly shut her mouth upon realising what she was saying, Ida and Libby looked at her for a second, before bursting into a fit of laughter. Surely enough Ethine joined in, either from peer pressure or from actually starting to find it funny. "You know, perhaps there isn't anything wrong with the place after all." Ethine muttered to herself, glancing at her friends who were still laughing. For her, no such bad luck had come their way to this point.

* * *

 ** _Audio Message #20: Subject Members 4 and 6 - aka Ida and Libby, has travelled 1523 miles (2451 Km's). I believe that the small threat of hunger is now a thing the trio have to be activly concerned about. While for now it has been dealt with, I don't know about how long that can go on for until something snaps. As a result their survival score is at a 3.9 out of 5._**

 _ **End of message.**_

* * *

 **AN: I may just place this story to a T rating. I've been thinking about doing this for some time, but this chapter has given me the push to do so. Sorry for those who only search by K+ or lower.  
**

 **Next chapter: An Unexpected Inquisition  
**

 **Fun Fact: Updated my profile to account for future projects. It's not much but I plan to add more (such as a short description).  
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	29. Page 29 - An Unexpected Inquisition

**Location: 8°31'36.03"N. 82°27'36.47"W.**

 **Time since asteroid impact: 1 month 2 weeks 2 days  
**

* * *

Apparently there was a small city they passed by? Buck wasn't sure how to think of that. Throughout the entire trek to the border they had come across an influx of other travellers, and the reason according to Ramsey was that they were all heading over to the same place. That place... it seemed almost central to the culture Buck was so new too, it seemed inviting just from its description. He brushed the temptation off however, as he learned that it was further than his home - the one place he needed to get to.

And that was another thing that seemed central to their culture. He wasn't sure of it, but apparently something made Clawtooth Mountain the complete opposite of Oykot. While the populous city was described like a haven from all of what was going on, his home was described no less than cursed. Begging to know, he tried asking the other three, but there was one thing they all mentioned.

"We're getting close to the border, Buck. It's probably best not to talk about that until we get past them." Russel had been the last for Buck to talk too, knowing the previous response he gave to him. This response, at least to Buck's concern, implied that the borders were not a place to talk about Clawtooth Mountain. If that indeed was the case, he couldn't see a way past the border if he had to state exactly where he was going. It was an impass didn't have any resolve.

This concern grew as they arrived closer and closer, which at this point was so densely packed that an order had been enforced. "Wish you luck!" Nash and Ramsey waved them off, the aforementioned order had made it so that they had to be temporarily separated from Russel and Buck, and would be reunited on the other side.

If they made it, that is.

Soon the border came into view, and above all things Buck found it intriguing that 'border' did not mean a solid wall with gates every now and then, instead the border was thicker and went over the mountains. Within the border, various individuals every now and then were there to check up on those wishing to pass through. It looked very easy to pass through, which made Buck wonder why no one just rush past the border. His questioning was soon answered, as he spotted someone running towards the border. Surprisingly, it wasn't the border check-ups who stopped them, but rather the civilians who did the job.

That easily explained why it was difficult to get past them, if there were many in the process of getting through, then anyone trying to get through would be stopped. Even if there wasn't so many, he could imagine that any check-up's wouldn't need to be there with a reduced population, and so could act as guards for any that do try. He did wonder if one small and fast enough could slip by, and then he realised this wasn't the only border - another north of this one he had to pass, and with that he saw no way through the two borders.

"So Russel, how exactly does one do this?" Buck needed at least some guidence for this, the simple life of the homestead was much more suitable for him in these trying times.

"Not exactly sure, but I know that they'll ask you why you are travelling over. I imagine that if you answer clearly and not mentioning about home, you should be fine."

"Me?" Buck soon realised something was wrong with the explaination his older friend gave.

"We're at a point where even you and me will be separated temporarily, it's to make sure that we can't influence each other. Just... if they ask where you come from, tell them-" Before Russel could finish, an individual which Buck could only assume to be one of the check-up individuals guided him to the border. While it now wouldn't be long for Buck to have his turn, the fact that Russel couldn't finish was frustrating to say the least.

On one side, if he told them he wished to travel to Oykot, what chances were there that they would catch his lie? And even if he got away with it, he didn't know what Russel was going to say, and there seemed to be a strong possibility that if they said conflicting accounts the result wouldn't be in their favour. On the other side, if he flat out told them of his true home, the possibility of confliction rose up again, along with the fact that the mountains weren't a light topic to mention.

"You there with the long neck, over here please." Someone in front spoke up, leading to Buck searching for and finding the one who called out. They were an adult sauropod with many shades of yellow of a wavy-stripe pattern, a colour he hadn't quite expected from someone like this. Walking over to him, he soon found it daunting to try to lift his neck high enough to meet his face. Fortunately the one in question quickly lowered themselves to be in eye contact.

"Hello, my name is Pelias, I'll be asking you some questions as a requirement of you passing through. First and foremost, can you give me your name?"

Simple enough, for now at least "Buck, my name is Buck." he answered, a bit louder than he hoped.

"Excellent, now Buck, the next four questions relate to you as an individual. So, is there a particular reason for you to pass through the borders?" Pelias made sure to repeat the question when Buck didn't quite hear all of it. As of this point it felt more comfortable to be around him. Buck figured that was another reason for the splitting up, to ensure that each individual could be matched up to someone they were comfortable around.

"My family, we were seperated quite a while ago, I figured that if I could get back to our home then we could eventually find each other." It was the truth for all Buck cared about, indeed he hadn't told where home was, he figured that would be brought up later. For now at least, avoiding the topic was at least something he could try.

"Okay, in that case question two is answered. Question three, do you have any aid in reaching your destination? If not, we can provide you with the nessessities needed." Buck knew at that point Pelias thought the journey would be long. If practically everyone else was heading to Oykot, one can easily assume Buck would do the same. "My friends Russel, Nash and Ramsey have helped me out to here, and they know the way back home. So I don't need anything, really."

In hindsight he could've at least asked for extra food or water, but that was soon brushed aside when Pelias continued, "Well, that's most of our questions done, if you need anything to eat or drink there's a town in between here and the next border that can supply you with it. Onto the final question. Now, while we understand this might not be relevant to why the borders are here, but we ask this one so we can catalogue where everyone heads to in the case of there being a mass migration. So, where exactly is your destination?"

 _Damn it!_ Buck thought, he knew it would turn up somewhere, just not at this point. He could feel himself loosing his sanity over this. Sighing heavily, he decided to tell the truth. "Clawtooth Mountain." There, he said it, Buck prepared for what was to come... but nothing happened. At least, not in the time span Buck thought something would happen in. Pelias didn't do anything that seemed like Buck had said a good or bad thing. Instead, he walked away from Buck over to a medium sized building.

Buck waited patiently, trying not to pay attention to the muttering behind. A weight seemed to lift off of him as Pelias came back out, though nothing could be read from his facial expressions. It took until right when Pelias was in front of him before any actual conversation took place. "Sorry for the inconvenience, you are free to move forwards and meet up with your friends." Buck couldn't believe it, did something happen in the building that made Pelias allow him to go on, or was there something more to it?

Upon questioning it, Pelias quickly interrupted him. "I'll be on the lookout for the rest of your family and will make sure to send someone over Oykot as well just in case. Have a nice day!" Buck felt a nudge from Pelias' tail, anything Buck could ask now was now likely to be ignored.

Somehow, he had made it past the first of the two borders. Now he just had to find...

"How did it go for you then?" Buck swiftly turned to see the two tyrannosaurs, who had apparently been there waiting for him and Russel to come out. "It was... fine I guess, how'd you two get through so quickly?" They answered by showing him the map to Clawtooth Mountain "One good look at this and they just allowed us through. You seen your friend of yours?" Nash had asked, Buck was ready to tell them that he had not seen him when Russel came over to them. "Russel! How was it?" Ramsey came over, while Russel still had his head turned to where the border was behind him.

Finally getting to look at everyone else, Russel replied "It's weird, did anyone else get let off after mentioning-" He stopped when Ramsey and Nash raised their arms, while Buck attempted to raise one of his front legs as high as he could. "Did yours go into a building by any chance?" Buck asked, wondering if that was something that could've influenced this check-up. By chance, no one else had that experience, only making things more confusing for them all.

"Well, while we could just stand here and discuss why we were allowed through, I think we're missing an opportunity to you know, _head on over_ to the mountains?" Russel intervened, knowing that right now they had a good chance of getting to Buck's home once and for all. As long as nothing happened on the next border, they were glad to be in a less stressful situation.

* * *

 ** _Audio Message #21: Subject Member 5 - aka Buck, has travelled 58.6 miles (94.3 Km's)_** ** _. So Buck has made it past the first of the two borders ey? I don't think that's a cause for celebration though. For all I know right now, it seems the second border could be a lot stricter than the first. While it is strange that the border just let them all through, I believe it's quite justified that they did allow them through._**

 ** _You see, for all I've seen in terms of responce to the place, Clawtooth Mountain seems more like a sign of bad luck or even death for anyone who goes near, rather than anything that the borders would associate with someone who would try to do something malicious - it's a sign of bad luck, not criminal activity - is what I'm saying._**

 ** _If this is the case, then from the border's perspective it's just getting rid of back luck, which may seem stupid from where I come from, but this is a culture I have little knowledge of. With all that said though, their survival score has been set to a 4.6 out of 5 (0 being dead and 5 being perfectly alive/healthy)._**

 _ **End of message.**_

* * *

 **A/N: I should probably say how this story is doing in terms of arcs. Currently, I have everyone's arcs down except for Henry's, which is ironic considering it has some of the more... exotic parts of the story. I can say that we're fast approaching the end of Act 2 (Act 1 was before the meteor, short but only because there wasn't too much to add), and that Act 3 will probably be shorter than Act 2 depending on how I structure it character-wise.**

 **As for after this story... I plan to make the next (and final) story of this franchise more fleshed out like Henry's Long Adventure was. This means I'll be planning and writing the story _before_ posting it here. That being said, this will result in a pretty long gap between the end of this story and the beginning of the next. I'll definitely have it started before the end of Janurary 2020, but no promises on anything before that (I _could_ try one-shots).  
**

 **And then beyond that? Well I'll most likely move on from this franchise, I already have my eyes focused on the Jurassic Park series (you may have noticed that on my profile), but this far ahead even those seem uncertain. I'm working on a game as well as real life stuff going on, so the further into the future I 'plan', the more uncertain it becomes.**

 **I just hope I can and this series on a good note.**

 **Next chapter: Shattering Skies  
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 **Fun Facts:  
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	30. Page 30 - Shattering Skies

**Location: 34°09'01.48"S. 70°44'23.43"W.**

 **Time since asteroid impact: 1 month 6 days**

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"Okay, tell me what happened from the start." Henry was doing his best to calm Negev down while Negev had been skimming through what Henry could describe as an attempt to summarise. To no avail, Henry thought of one quick effort to side track Negev over what had happened. Finding the nearest deep puddle, Henry sucked in all the water out before streaming it in Negev's direction.

"What was that for!?" Negev protested, "You were going all over the place, that's not exactly how one would pass information around now is it? So, you just calm down and start from after I went to have a rest."

Negev took a few deep breaths in and out before continuing. "Right, so while you were resting, I looked for any evidence of the map actually belonging to the Nyasasaurs that you supposedly saw. I then found this." Passing the book over to Henry, Negev spectated for any change in expression from the Apatosaur opposite him. He became satisfied by how surprised Henry became "This is-"

"The sketches in the book may not be accurate to these maps, but it does provide a nessesary explaination as to why the maps are so different. They could still be alternate worlds, but this seems to suggest that at least one of the places you go to is actually the past, which raises... interesting questions." Negev explained, starting to think upon the last statement.

In the midst of his thinking, Henry turned the page over with a stick and started reading onwards. "A lot of this book seems to get the outlines right, but everything else not so much." Negev was thrown from his thoughts upon hearing Henry again. "Well I mean, you're the only one who has actually gone back to see them. The rest of us have not, and can only use speculation and the evidence we find from the ground. But this has me thinking, if we could go back to them again, we could learn so much about their life style, their language, thei-"

"What do you mean? Their language is the same as ours." Negev took a step back from the sentence, before looking down at the maps. "The writing on this one is completely different from this one." Pointing at each map, Negev continued "Which makes sense because why would a civilisation from who knows how long have the exact same language as ours?" Negev could tell that it was now Henry's turn to be confused, before continuing "Perhaps whatever is on your leg could be responsible."

"Excuse me?" By now Henry had raised all of his legs up, one by one and inspected each. Looking back at Negev, he saw a change in his companion's mental state. "But... you had a... what is going on?" Negev started to pace back and fourth, at a rate just right for the building to start shaking a little. "How about we continue talking about what happened, right up until we came back here. Then we can start talking about it." Henry suggested, a small amount of impatience growing within as to how little they had solved, and how much they had unravled.

"Right, well, I was going to get your attention when Spot here allowed me to notice you had some pulsating light on your front left leg. I realised that it was what was allowing you to do all of this odd and intriguing stuff, I left it be and eventually we were all at the other farm you mentioned before." Negev had to take a breather before returning to the topic "Right next to the mountains eh? I don't know how close yours was, but damn if it's the same you must've been so ignorent-"

"Hey!" Henry called out. "My bad Henry. But anyways, it was night time, like the middle of the night. You weren't kidding when you mentioned how large the farm was, and then the clouds finally relaxed for all I can tell. There was this one guy that looked a lot like you, but... I'm not sure, he sure didn't _act_ like you. He... I don't think I've met anyone like him."

Negev looked back, only to find that Henry was't intrigued. It almost felt like he was afriad of the description Negev gave. Not mentioning it, Negev continued on, "Anyways, he wasn't alone. There was someone else who had snuck into one of... you said their names were Butch, Ramsey and Nash right? I had no idea what they were doing, but for some reason one of them had woken up and roared out, but their voice seemed to be cut short. I don't know if they were killed or not, but whoever was with the one that was in front of us, he sure didn't want anyone else to notice at any cost. After that their homestead started to burn down, but I couldn't just go in there, so I charged over to the homestead you said your family lived in and roared. I know someone came out before we got back here, unsure who though."

As Negev finished, he waited patiently for any responce. He'd been expecting Henry to talk more about the stranger, as he purposefully left details out from that. While waiting though, he did start to piece things together. _"What a cold and cruel fate for someone like him, to be eternally trapped in a loop between the best of three worlds. What is, what could've been, and what happened."_ Negev kept repeating that one line the stranger told him. _A loop? So Henry here is forever going to travel between here, the other farm, and the Nyasasaurian place._ He thought, _He knows something about the Nyasasaurian place that no one but The First One would, why else would he mention it if only Henry and Spot went over. I need to tell Henry soon enough..._

"So who is this 'The First One', anyways?" Negev didn't know if he had read his mind, or if it was by pure luck. At this point mind reading seemed to pale in comparison to being able to travel to other worlds. Only one thing led him to believe that Henry couldn't actually read what he was thinking; he would've already known by now if he actually had that ability. It was at this point Negev saw how stupid these assumptions that he had been thinking on the spot were.

"Well, I guess I can't hold it from you. Honestly I'm not even sure why I have been. But I digress. The First One is, to put it simply, what we believe is the reason for the near-dissapearence of the Nyasasaurian Empire. The consistency is that one day, a citizen had been exposed to a material unlike anything previously known before, and changed into an entity that had nearly destroyed their civilisation. No one has been able to figure out how it was stopped, and because of that we've made every possible situation not to go to Clawtooth."

"Is that it?" Henry asked, prompting Negev to respond "What do you mean, 'is that it?', yes that's all we know of!"

"Then why keep it a secret from me?" Henry had now started to raise his voice. "Was I really not that trustworthy?"

"No, I mean yes! I mean... augh why is this so complicated to explain?" Negev had almost mentally broke down at that point, talking some time to put his thoughts back together. "I was blinded by my instincts and even my surrounding lifestyle to ever trust you Henry, despite how obvious it was that you didn't even know why I didn't trust you. This predicament of yours has at least allowed me to see past that, just enough for me to see how foolish it was to ever keep it back from you. But I must also ask, do you think the rest of your family knows?"

Henry rose to speak, but then put that question to thought. Sure, he defintiely knew his kids didn't know, and Ida never told him anything about all this. However now that they were all seperated, he could only wonder how soon, or how long it would be for them to also be told of this. "I know none of us knew before all this. I'm just not so sure what to expect now."

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, that stranger wasn't after you."

Henry raised an eyebrow at that "What do you mean?", "I'm not so sure why, but whoever it was had a vendetta against the Henry from that world. I have no idea what happened for something like that to occur, but he seemed off nonetheless."

Intruiged, Henry pressed on, "In what way?"

"Just, he seemed to know of your current situation, saying that you were stuck between 'what is, what could've been, and what happened'. I'm not sure on that last one, but he was also- he had just this negative feeling around him. I don't get infuriated by many, but he's the first one to actually make me want to... I'm just getting off topic. Anyways, you're still not out of this cycle of yours huh?"

"Well... I don't know, I don't have any control of this, whatever it may be. You said I had something on my leg and yet, it is not there. If what he said about this being a cycle is correct, at least we know the next place we are going if this is to happen again." Negev gave a nod, they both knew that if indeed the cycle was still present, they would expect to be at the Nyasasaurian place. Using previous knowledge of the immediate surrounds Henry had been in last time, they prepared for it by packing together various items.

As it turned out, Negev was fully aware of what gethering information from the Nyasasaurs would entail. Having a treasure trove of information about the lost empire, and sending that information to Oykot's way? Negev couldn't wait for the moment.

 _Any moment now..._

To Negev's frustration, nothing happened. "May I remind you that I have no control of this, I do not know _when_ it will occur." Henry clearly observerved Negev in his rarely irritated mood. "I know that! Maybe we should... of course! It seems to happen only when you're-" Negev looked down, and saw the same light emitting from the same leg. "...Asleep, damn it." he muttered, giving the opportunity for Henry to have a first look himself. "Well I'll be, you weren't kidding about this."

Once again, its intensity grew stronger over time, and once it had done its thing they found themselves in the middle of a vast plain. Henry had been the first to realise where they were thanks to the lack of grass, despite the best term for where they were in being 'grassland'. Indeed it looked like grass at first glance, but alas these plants weren't even flowering, more akin to moss and ferns than actual grass. As the hills came into view, they soon met the river Henry met last time - still flowing at a calm, orderly fashion - and moved onward towards the same trail of smoke. Things seemed to be going just like last time, except without all the screaming from the inhabitants below. "You're back! And you brought someone else with you too!" Henry could recognise Xela's voice from anywhere as she jumped onto his back and continued up to his head, "I'm Xela, nice to meet you!" Henry brought her close to Negev after she finished, allowing the two to converse at proper eye-level. "And I'm Negev, Henry's told me quite a bit about you and this place. He and me have been figuing out where and when this place is compared to where we were from and-"

"What do you mean where and _when_?" Xela asked, having a keen eye on the words Negev used. "Well, we were confused as to why the maps were so different, and eventually figured it out."

"Oh? That map you gave Henry confused me, you sure your mapping skills are not... basic?"

"He doesn't make the maps Xela" Henry chimed in, "Besides, both maps are accurate, it's just that they're from different times."

"But... how can that be possible? I guess that would explain how you suddenly dissapeared right after you found where you were on our maps. And... I guess it solves why you were so lost, and why there's no such thing as Clawtooth Mountain here. Actually, how are you even able to talk to me? Both of you. We're different kinds, so naturally we should have-"

"We're still working on an explaination on that." Negev answered, "All we have currently is that Henry here is trapped in a cycle of: 'what is', being where we come from, 'what could've been', where the events that have occured in our place never did, and 'what happened', which is this place. We know that every time Henry is about to change places, a glowing effect happens on his leg, but at the same time his way of exiting back to where we come from varies."

Xela thought for a moment, before sliding down Henry onto the ground, walking to her home. "Will we _both_ have to get through the town?" Henry asked, concerned that a repeat of last time would happen, albeit now with two sauropods instead of one. "Nah, I moved house to one closer to the edge. Though a friend of mine is currently staying for a couple of days so I'll try my best to prepare him for you two's appearence." The three visitors walked on over to the building Xela entered, waiting until one of the openings expanded to allow both of them to peer in. The room inside had been more organised than Xela's old place, however oddly enough it felt smaller as well. While Henry had been fixated on the room in particular, Negev was intrigued by the outside conditions. "I'm not sure why, but it feels like the day's moving quicker."

"Perhaps you've been so used to the days getting darker?" Henry suggested, but Negev didn't think that was the proper answer needed to explain it. Oblivious, Negev's gut instinct had been correct; since they had gone to the past, the length of a day on Earth was shorter than te length they had grown up to. Instead of 24 hours, the length here was about 10 minutes shorter than 23 hours. A small change, but noticable. Nonetheless, Negev had shrugged it off and proceeded to admire all the things that the Nyasasaurian Empire had going for them.

For starters, removing the 'Empire' part of the name. After so many books on the topic, Negev had believed that the Nyasasaurian Empire held up to it's name by being a fierce militaristic force that vowed to keep to their traditions. After spending time conversing with Xela and her friend however it seemed to be the complete opposite, being more of a direct federational civilisation. This, along with how open everyone was each other, threw Negev's assumptions right out. Apparently Xela's friend was into discovering new things from otherwise-everyday objects, which he found amusing.

"So what is this 'Clawtooth Mountain' like anyways?" Xela asked, now wanting to know much about their world. "Well, it was this large mountain range, with the largest being not one, but three peaks. All with snow on the top. You would probably be overwhelmed by how large they were, if they were still around." Henry explained.

"What happened to them?"

"Something happened, not sure what exactly, that blasted a massive amount of rock and dust into the sky, before it all came down. The ground broke apart and me along with my family were all swept out into the sea while a large boulder of somekind hit the tops, essentially destroying about half of the mountains. I haven't seen them since." Henry, once again reminded about his family, felt the urge to leave this place and go back to them. However the reminder that he was essentially trapped in this cycle kept him from doing so. "I still don't get it, if where you came from is 'what is' and this other place you described is 'what could've been', what exactly do you mean when you say this place is 'what happened'?" Xela once again brought Henry from his thoughts and back to reality, now searching anywhere around their current location for something to do while his friends were continuing to chat.

Spot soon got his attention, who kept nudging him. Wondering what had bothered the small critter, Henry looked to whatever had been the cause. To his surprise, it was something within the sky...

"We're not quite sure of that, I met this stranger that described all three in those words. While we both have a good understanding of what he meant with ours and the alternative, we don't have a clue as to what could've happened here for the other two to be so different." Negev had responded, both he and Xela were were still wondering as to what the stranger meant by the Nyasasaurian place being 'what happened'.

"What if it wasn't directed towards the other two worlds?" Xela proposed, "You seem to say that Clawtooth Mountain is deemed unlucky and to some members even taboo, you're also _very_ interested in our culture, more so than Henry..."

"Are you saying that 'what happened' refers to what happened for Clawtooth Mountain to be so negative to _our culture_ , even though this is the past?" Negev had grown a frown upon his face upon trying to piece it together.

"Since this is the 'past' to you two, I assume that something happened to us?" Xela too became concerned, "If so, that means that whatever happens to our place will happen while you are here."

"The First One..." Negev mumbled, before realising the implications. Quickly he pulled out the two maps and settled them down, only this time seeing if the place they were at and Clawtooth Mountain were near. To his shear worry, the two places were not only near, but seemed to overlap. "Xela..." He caught her attention, "I think this place _is_ Clawtooth Mountain. Clawtooth Mountain isn't the place where it was buried, it's the place that The First One was born in!" Depite Xela's confusion and requests of understanding what he was talking about, Negev turned around and went after Henry, only to stop when he found that Henry hadn't moved much from where he last saw him.

Looking to where Henry had his gaze on, Negev took a step or two back in awe as the sky itself started to crack. Like the cracks seen on ice, or even glass, except in slow motion. Each crack radiated from a central point, some going up, some going to the sides. The ones that reached towards the ground made otherworldly sounds, described only as the deep sounds of glacier movement, except louder and a bigger echo. As one crack in particular touched the ground, it too split, creating a field of cracks on its own. "Henry, we need to get out of here right now." Negev nudged Henry, but to no avail much to his surprise. After actually trying to push Henry over, Negev wondered if this was _meant_ to happen.

Sure enough as the cracks on the ground made its way over, the same glowing formation across Henry's leg appeared, only this time a striking purple-like colour instead of the usual golden like aura it would normally produce. _This is it..._ Negev thought, _I'm witnessing the arrival of The First One right before my eyes!_ He wanted so desperately to stop it, still trying to anyways. Nothing would budge, and he could only prepare for the worst.

Except it never came to be.

As soon as Henry planted his foot onto the nearest fracture, it immediately retracted. They all did, while the central part of the crevices grew in intensity. Putting two on two, Negev knew something was indeed trying to break through whatever barrier they could for now temorarily see. Finally, the sky ruptured for an instant and returned to normal, not before an object like none before came through at a tremendous speed and crashed into the ground not too far from the settlement.

Unsure what to do now, Negev glanced over to Henry for any explaination. Instead Henry remained solid for an extra moment before appearing to come out of a trance. "What happened? Why are you staring at me Negev?" Henry proceeded to look all over him in case something was wrong, making a small gasp when he noticed the glowing band on his leg, promptly dissapearing. Bewildered, the brown sauropod attempted to answer "There was this thing in the sky that reached down to the ground, you touched it and then that thing over there came out."

"I did that?" Henry had his mouth slightly agape while looking over to whatever landed. "You don't remember?" Xela asked, to her the whole event was unsettling to say the least, Negev's comments before not helping. "I think I blacked out during all that."

"No kidding, you barely flinched when I tried moving you away. Look, we need to get out of here and _fast_." While Henry wanted to stay at least a bit more, he knew that going back to Negev's was the safest option after what happened. Wanting to face back around to Negev's direction, Henry was instead met with dark clouds, and the occasional crashing of waves. Looking around in every direction possible, he could feel the fine sand, hear the rapid river nearby, taste the salty air one would associate with an ocean coast. This was the last place Henry got to before he returned to Negev's.

Speaking of which, _where is he?_

* * *

 ** _Audio Message #22: Subject Member 3 - aka Henry, has travelled 0 miles (0 Km's). Henry's path back home has so far gone in a direction I never thought would be possible in a world like this, I have tried to explain his experiences with science and knowledge but nothing comes to a sound conclusion. I can however say with confidence that indeed he has returned to the last place he rested at (_** ** _ **18°25'13.14"S. 70°19'14.98"W)** **.** I can't say he's improved or diminished in terms of quality of life, and as a result their survival score remains at a 4 out of 5._**

 _ **End of message.**_

* * *

 **AN: Yes I know this is late, as such, this will be part of a triple upload, with this today and the next two as usual.  
**

 **Next chapter: Hemisphere Genesis  
**

 **Fun Fact: If you haven't guessed already, the 'Nyasasaurian Empire' is home to this worlds version of the Nyasasaurs, an extremely early dinosaur that's one of the closest to being the ansestor of all dinosaurs. It is not _the_ ansestor of all, as to the unfortunaty of my past self for thinking that they were, but they're close.  
**


	31. Page 31 - Hemisphere Genesis

**Location: 35°44'21.37"N. 139°51'34.17"E.**

 **Time since asteroid impact: 1 month 5 days**

* * *

Thinking about family was tough for Verena, she wanted to get back to them as soon as possible, but the chance that at least some of them were living in Oykot was enough for Verena to wait for a while. It had only been a day living on the high-points of the massive city, and she was already homesick. Oykot, while providing all the nessesities she wanted, had it's downsides. Too many things to keep track of, and not even mentioning just how many were in the building she resided. At least the view was nice, or it had been until the clouds really started to block the light, she couldn't make out the difference between sea and land.

Masahiro was a big help for her getting used to the place, having provided enough context for her to get the hang of all she needed to do while waiting for any results to come through. Making friends with the Therizinosaurus at the bottom had become a great service, in which she could also hear of the latest stuff going on around the city, much earlier before Masahiro knew. Verena knew of Clawtooth's controversy, so any talks of those that came from the place should spread like wildfire, though that made her wonder how far the talks of her arrival had gone.

"Rumor has it that the one who came up with the idea behind this dome won't be around for the parade today." The Therizinosaurus, whom Verena now knew as Ancilla, said. According to Ancilla, it meant a lot for the one who conceptualised the dome structure to attend the parade meant to celebrate it's completion, and having them not turn up had apparently caused quite an uproar.

"It's just, why not hold it off until they have time?" Verena found it rather comfortable to the one who came up with compromises, it worked well at her old home, so why not here too. "Surely they can't be busy all the time?"

Ancilla shook her head in disagreement, "This particular parade has been set so that everyone has their time off, except of course for the current leader of Oykot. Which means that the leader has an eye on them to stay from the parade, hence the backlash at the leader for doing this. If the leader wants to keep them from attending this parade, then it has a lot of implications for what the reasoning behind it may be. Of course, like with every other time something like this has happened, no answer has been put forward to the public."

"Well, why don't one just go to the leader and address the issue right then and there?"

"Oh goodness no, that only lessens your chance of getting an answer. Though in all honesty, you would make a good councillor. Not only would that be your best bet of finding him to look for an answer, you may also get to find more about any arrivals faster than what you've got currently."

"Although that would be nice, I don't think many would take me kindly, given... you know?" Ancilla's face lit up just then, "I wouldn't put yourself down like that, that last debate we had over management of food distribution taught me that you can be pretty persuasive if you know what you're talking about. With enough research on the general background of this city, you would make a great councillor. Besides, regarding your home and all, lets just say that no one really knows of your original location."

Now it was Verena's turn to face Ancilla "You mean you never told anyone else?"

"Nope. Masahiro made it very clear why doing so wouldn't exactly be the best thing to happen throughout the community. Pretty much the only one who _does_ know is Oscar, since apparently you met him when entering, but I explained the same stuff to him as Masahiro did to me."

Verena gave a small scowl, before lightening back up. "I told you because I knew that any word about me coming from Cl... from my home, would spread until it either reaches someone else in my family, or until word of two individuals coming from the same place spreads. That way we can find each other faster than the system Masahiro is currently using."

Ancilla scratched her head with one of her long claws while thinking. "I guess I can see the thought process behind that. But that's just the thing. If it were to spread, and if there was someone else in your family living here, then the knowledge of not one but two closely related citizens coming from those mountains of yours will be known throughout the community. And if you know about the controversy, you should know then of what will happen when that knowledge is made known."

"I don't know, sorry." Verena did indeed want to know of what the Therizinosaurus was reffering to, but the tone of Ancilla's voice made Verena have second thoughts.

"They would do anything in their power to keep you two from going near each other! Apparently some superstition that multiple... lets call you mountain dwellers, meeting up creates an exponential amount of bad luck. Some fear that even just two members could cause the collapse of Oykot. Now, that may be an odd thing to think about- believe me, I think it's just rediculous. But if what you propose works, then there _will_ be those out there wanting to stop you from meeting any other members of your family."

By now Verena had become frustrated "So this place believes more in the fear of what could be than the prospect of me actually finding my family? How stupid is that!?"

"How stupid is what exactly?" Verena's heart skipped a beat as she whipped around to face Masahiro standing there. "Just got word that Kichi will be coming back. I suppose that they already sent out someone to see the progress and reported back here before we arrived. Say, you think that could explain why you had that note on the hay in your room?" It took a while for Verena to understand all that he said, and after doing so it sort of clicked. Indeed if they had sent someone out, possibly one faster than the two of them and could find Kichi easily, then it would make sense how Oykot would know of their arrival before they got back. Perhaps the note came from the leader himself.

Before she could answer, Masahiro interrupted "By the way Verena, I've just been assigned back to my old job. You can come with me if you'd like?"

* * *

For Arlo, having met Moorak the day before had given him mixed thoughts about staying here. Ivy told him that his family could also be around, and if not, any reports from other towns of their presence would also be made known in Oykot. As such, a new reason for him to stay became apparent, as finding anything of his family's last whereabouts would be a massive help for him. However today was not about that. Moorak had apparently reserved a meeting for Arlo to attend, the fact that he didn't mention who he was meeting wasn't making things good to begin with.

Unlike the massive, foreboding room where Arlo first met Moorak, the room Arlo had arrived to had a much more appealing look. Filled with decorations, mostly plant-based, it was definitly more inviting.

"So you're the lad I'm meeting up with today 'mm?" Arlo startled at hearing the unusual western accent, upon facing to where the voice came from, he backed himself to a wall after seeing the Tyrannosaurus who had entered the room. "I'm not 'ere to make you my dinner, just to get to know each other. How about we do they ey?" The theropod had calmed his voice down in an attmept to get Arlo to feel comfortable talking. "Y-yes sir."

"Call me Butch, and what of your name?" Although Arlo was still weary of Butch, he had begun settling down closer to not only be both more social and to find a suitable spot to sit down on. "Um... A-Arlo"

Butch became surprised to hear that name, Arlo had wondered if the name had any actual significance in Oykot, seeing how Moorak had became so intrigued by it. "I've heard that name before... someone... ah yes, now I remember. There was this critter who went by the name of Robert. He met someone like you with the same name! He was a neat critter, though our time together was short."

Interested in what Butch had said, Arlo wanted to know more "Someone like me?"

"Oh yes, I don't understand much of what Robert said, but apparently his father met Arlo and his family, they spent time together. I believe there was something about the family going over to Roberts place, and someone else not liking that and wanting to take over the place that Arlo and his family were from. Again I don't understand a lot of it but, from what he did say, he made this Arlo sound like a really nice one to be around. I can tell the Arlo he was mentioning isn't you, for starters, you're not with your family. Anything up with that?" Arlo felt like someone had punched a reminder into him, his family, so far Butch had made him take his mind away from that, but having it thrown back at him felt painful on the inside, and Butch could see it.

"That bad? I take it that the sky mountain seperated you from them?"

Perking up, Arlo responded "Yeah... what do you mean by _sky mountain_?"

Butch gave a low chuckle "We call it many things around here, sky mountain is so far the best description as well as the most spoken name for it. Ever since reports came in that a crater was found, we all suspected something had collided with the ground. And with all that's been happening because of it, we could only assume something on the scale of a mountain or bigger could've done it."

Arlo gave a nod to understanding, "So you're the one who came up with the dome?"

Butch thought hard, adjusting himself to face more direct at the young apatosaur, "Not really, that goes once again to Robert. He knew our kind wouldn't make it if something like this wasn't made. But I never knew they would take the concept this far. To everyone else I'm the one who invented the idea, the one who made all this possible. I don't believe that. Robert came up with it, and everyone else did their part in making it. I don't deserve more credit than anyone else, and yet, we live in a world where I do. It's a matter of perspective. Once you see it, you can't help but pity on the ignorant."

Huffing, Arlo too turned around, "I know how you feel. Everyone thinks my home is some dangerous place to avoid. Hmm... Poppa would've shown them otherwise, he made things so- so..."

"Like home? Like a place where you can only belong to, a place that you wouldn't miss for the world? Your father seems like someone with a golden heart, but an iron mind. I like that in others, being willing to help anyone out with any difficulty, being as much of a father figure as possible. But at the same time, would stay truthful to his word no matter what. It's a personality I can get behind, but it's not perfect."

"What do you mean?" Arlo became perplexed, Henry _was_ perfect, right?

Butch on the other hand softened, lowering his head down. "Listen kid, if there's one thing you should learn early in life, it's that nothing is perfect. No matter how much you try to be the best at something, you will be weak in more than one other aspect. There is no such thing as the perfect being. Take your for example, you're committed, you're definitely truthful, and you would like to grow up to be like your father. But you _aren't_ your father. You are different from that, and no matter how much others are willing to shape you, only you can decide what you want to be. You can make mistakes along the journey that is your life, but that's okay. I'm willing to bet my life that your father has made mistakes, no matter how small or large, they exist nonetheless. Mistakes will come to haunt you in the end, but you mustn't run from them in fear. If you are willing to face your mistakes and make amends, you're already better than those who are not."

"Whoooa..." Arlo could only take the words in astonishment, willing to admire Butch for speeking of such advice, he opened his mouth. "In the meantime however, I have a small job for you." Arlo shuddered as he repeated those words in his head, though in his fathers voice. "It's nothing intense, don't worry about that. There's a parade about to start, and I can take anyone to be next to me during it. Would you like to be there?"

Without even realising it, Arlo had nodded his head, but decided to just go along with it. "It would be an honour, Butch."

"Don't let it get to your head too much kid. Pure arrogance is the death of anyone who allows it to become a part of them." Butch stood up, giving Arlo a small hint of a smirk, before making his way to what Arlo would assume to be where the parade was going to start. As such, he too followed suit.

* * *

 ** _Audio Message #23: Subject Members 2 and 1 - aka Verena and Arlo, have travelled 0 miles (0 Km's). I'm so far astonished with how close Arlo and Verena currently are to each other, each living in one of the two central towers of Oykot. I'm mixed as to if them being so close, yet so far, is just a coincidence or not (It's still plausible that it is just coincidence). With all that said though, their survival score has both been set to a 4.9 out of 5 (0 being dead and 5 being perfectly alive/healthy)._**

 _ **End of message.**_

* * *

 **A/N: I decided to mix Arlo and Verena's chapters together since they're so close to each other. That said, the next chapter will be another Arlo/Verena chapter. After that though... I see Act 2 coming to a close really soon.**

 **Next chapter: Filtering the Archives**

 **Fun Facts: I'm just going to say this off the bat, if you had read chapter 19 of my previous story (TGD: Peter's Machine Between Worlds), you may have found the connection I had mentioned in that chapter to look out for in this story. After... two years? It's been that long? Anyways, after two years, the connection is finally made. It's minor, and doesn't really add much to the story in itself, but it's there nonetheless. There's another, more larger connection of stories, but that's not been made aware yet, and only the future can make that connection.**


	32. Page 32 - Filtering the Archives

**Location:** **35°44'21.37"N. 139°51'34.17"E.**

 **Time since asteroid impact: 1 month 5 days**

* * *

Verena had been somewhat eager to look at the job Masahiro had after being told that it was related to finding any trace of her family. While the parade was going to be wonderful according to Ancilla, priorities mattered more than entertainment in this case. Any chance to find her family was more than enough hope for her to loose any stress. The Archives, she heard Masahiro mention it on their way over, and wondered how big they were. Several possibilities came up, it containing every piece of knowledge, for instance. Indeed that turned out to be the case. Fortunately, there were several divisions, including the one that contained the records of those who previously arrived and those currently living.

Looking towards the alternate entrance ways, she could see that there was a constant trading of records going in and out. She suspected that those going in were of those who had just arrived, but for those going out, there were not one but two ways out for that group. Upon asking of this, the Siats gave out a short breath. "It's for those that have either left the city, as marked by those records going there. And for those over there..." He pointed towards the more popular of the two exits, "...are for those that have passed on."

"Oh..." Looking over them again, she could see just how many either left the city or died. Without much context, she could only wonder, though from looking back at the amount of records coming in, it seemed that the city was self-sustaining in terms of population. It was then she got a proper look as to how many records there were in this room alone. "It's not that daunting, it's sorted alphabetically. That helps a lot already. Since you know the names of your family, it shouldn't be too much of a task to find them. Now, who would you like to look at first?"

"Arlo!" Verena jumped straight ahead, wanting to get the process done as soon as possible. "Arlo, pretty unpopular name, which is good for us since it means less to look through. Now..." As Masahiro went over to the 'A' section, she glanced over to see a rather large figure on one of the balconies who appeared to be looking at something close to where she was. Before she could let her curiosity grow stronger, Masahiro called out to her, instinctivly making ger look back and start walking over.

Not much time went by before she looked back again, only to see that the figure had gone. "Here we go, the A section. Lets see here... Ap... Aq..- Aha! Ar, now then..." Verena could see that there were many thousands of records that Masahiro would skip by, and once he found the name Arlo he moved forward until he uncovered the first iteration. "Okay, I need you Verena to have a look for the last record, start on the row below and make your way over."

She did as told, and peeked into the first record she came across... Arman, it was close, but was just beyond what they were going for. "That's still a good thing, it means it's closer to where I am. Try moving over to the very left side of that row. If you find the name Arlo it means that it's somewhere between."

Carefully she slid the record back in its place, before walking over to the very end of the row of records. Peeking at it like last time... Arlyn. So, soo close. "There must be less than five hundred cases of the name, that's not bad actually."

"Did you just say five hundred?" Verena said in disbelief. She knew Arlo wasn't a popular name, but she definitely knew other memebers of her family had more common-sounding names. If Arlo had around five hundred, just how many were there for everyone else?

"Don't worry, you still haven't reached the last record for Arlo yet. For now, go on over to that side of the row I'm on and pick a random spot to look. You'll know it's between your spot and the end of this row if it's Arlo."

All the talk about Arlo, everytime the name came through a part of her wanted to perk up in excitement. She knew he was the most dependant, so knowing that he was okay would mean that the rest of her family had a higher chance of being alive. She slid the record back to its place, and moved to the spot she felt was sufficient enough for the name to end. Prying it open... Arlo! She then pushed it back in, and moved not too far to the right, just a mere five records over. Arlusen, the gap had gone much shorter now. Eventually she had found the final instalment of the name, and with some moment pass Masahiro thought about how many there would be.

"We're looking at around three hundred and fourty individuals with the name Arlo. That's actually a very small amount, we can pretty much get around to sifting through all this by the end of the day!" For Verena, it felt a little better that it could well possibly mean that only a day would have to pass more for her to figure out whether or not her brother was around near. Her mind then became confliced on if she should even know of the good, or possibly bad results.

* * *

While things had grown dark enough for even the middle of the day to look and feel like an evening, it didn't deter anyone from setting up the parade. Arlo could see that as soon as he and Butch made it outside. Many light sources on the walls allowed them to see better, not that it was needed too much. For Arlo, seeing all the massive constructions that would supposedly be moving around the ground floor of Oykot was awe inspiring to say the least. Though the base leaves, sticks, and various pieces of iron used to make the constructions on the floats weren't all that pretty. However the various other parts used such as flowers, dyes, and sometimes even hides, did indeed bring out the colour more.

Looking at all the floats of different individuals, one in particular caught his attention. "That's our one Arlo, looks like it's about to start." Arlo hadn't seen Butch move faster than an amble, so seeing him speed walk was certainly new. Having to keep up with the pace, he eventually caught up with the tyrannosaur.

As the parade started, Arlo was blown away by all the sounds and sights beheld in front of him. The horn-like sounds coming from the parasaurolophus' could be felt, not just heard, and Arlo loved that. Even the opening and closing of various sections of the dome above produced intricate patterns on the ground. Progressing through the whole city allowed the young apatosaur to see many places he had not seen before. He could see why it seemed important to those that lived within, as not only was it for the dome's comletion, but also as a way for the inhabitants to celebrate their achievements.

"Enjoying the parade kid?" Butch called out over the celabatory noise, indeed it was a little too much for them to talk at a normal level, but at least no else could hear them.

"Yeah... yeah! This is much more than I thought it would be!" Butch chuckled at that, Arlo couldn't exactly hear it but at least he could see it. Something in him liked it when he made the old-timer smile or laugh.

Facing Arlo once more, Butch wore a more casual look "Indeed, one hasn't the clue what we can pull off until they see it first hand." They were soon approaching the more populated parts of the city, Arlo didn't know how much time had passed by for them to get so close to the end of the parade but that wasn't the matter. An eruption of cheering and music came forth as they made it into the inner city. He thought that all that came before was the main act but he was sure corrected when everything came to life. He startled when noticing that the structure they had been sitting under started to move, but fortunately Butch reassured that these structures were merely hollow, and there were individuals inside that were moving the parts.

It reminded Arlo of the makeshift tyrannosaur sculpture his father made to scare Buck...

Arlo's stomach curled inside, even during celabatory times like these he couldn't stop thinking about them, everything he saw as beautiful would always lead his thoughts back to his family. Except this time... something this time was different, he didn't have any idea why, but there was something about that memory that triggered something else.

"Arlo? Are you... Arlo!" He came in and out, slowly fading off into the blackness of unconsciousness, as he watched helplessly as the tyrannosaur along with others come to his aid. He saw Moorak coming over at the last moment of his ability to stay awake.

...

Muffled sounds begun to emit from unknown sources, and although his mind wanted to know what was going on, the rest of hs body needed more time. He tried asking something, but he couldn't make out what he was even saying. Blurry shapes begun to emerge from the darkness, and the sounds became more prominent, too much for him to cope with at the moment. Eventually he tried once more to reach out to reality, and this time more progress was made. As the muffled sounds became clearer, along with the shapes, he knew he had been taken to a well-lit room of somekind. Perhaps it was a place for those who got hurt in some way? He didn't care much about that, just as long as he himself was fine.

"...be fine?" Arlo could recognise that voice, though the name was still just a tad too far for him to reach.

"I see his eyes opening!" Someone else called out, making Arlo wince at the loudness. A few echoing footsteps could be felt before two large figures stood nearby. "How are you doing kid?" he recalled Butch's voice. Using all his strength he could, he turned his head over to the direction he heard it from, before uttering a weak "Thank you."

"Easy there, lets not move too much. Your body is still trying to recover so you may feel an aching sensation at any-" Right as the one Arlo could identify as Moorak said that, a wave of an intense twinging sensation swept across all that he could feel, causing him to at the least yelp and at most cry in agony. Slowly, it began to wore off, along with a lot of the restrictions that kept Arlo from sensing things normally.

With most of the pain having become a thing of the past, he felt more relaxed than before. "You feeling better Arlo?"

He hadn't noticed until now that the apatosaur who saved him was by his side. "Ivy? When did you-"

"She's been by your side ever since she got word that something had happened to you. You should've seen how many were there to help you on out over here after you fainted," Moorak told, explaining what Arlo had missed out on, "I'm sure everyone who attended the parade will be at easy knowing you're okay. For now however, it is best that you stay here to rest for the night. I'll leave you three alone and will check up on your tommorrow. Hope you get better soon!" Moorak turned and walked his way out of the room, making sure that only Arlo and his friends were left in there.

"I messed up the parade didn't I?" Arlo faltered, attempting to look down in a guilty manner but found that his muscles tensed up before he could reach said position. "It's not your fault Arlo." Ivy spoke up, "While we don't exactly have a clue on what caused your to go out like that, make no mistake that we're doing our best to give a proper diagnosis. In the meantime though, you probably won't be able to get far without risk of this happening again."

Arlo huffed in frustration, he now couldn't so much as leave the city even if he got the information he needed. "It's not that bad kid, perhaps a good story or two might cheer you up." Ivy instantly perked up in excitement, "You hear that Arlo? Not many get to have a first hand story telling from Butch!"

A deep scoff came from the afformentioned tyrannosaur's direction. "It's not a hobby I persue, Ivy. Besides, I think this kid here has earned it, wouldn't you say?"

"Really? I don't feel like I've earned anything." Arlo once again tried to turn his head down, only this time he wasn't able to reach his limit; a small pair of claws cushioned his lower jaw, before forcing him to look upwards towards Butch. It had been his claws that made Arlo gaze upon him.

Carrying a narrow-eyes face, Butch glared at the smaller apatosaur with a frown. "You beat yourself down too much to even see all that you've been through and still make it out this end alive. Ivy's told me all about her experience with you, having a close call with a fire wirl as well as an active volcano. Not to mention the decent from Iron Mountain too. You've been through a lot more than many others your age have, and yet you pull yourself to think less of yourself."

"But it's true!"

A faint growl could be heard from inside the rex's throat. "You've lived a life where others have treated you less than what you are. From the way you're acting, I can sense that you've not had such a smooth sailing time over at Clawtooth Mountain." Ivy and Arlo gasped, Arlo more so, "You think Ivy didn't let me in on where you lived either? Besides, no one else is around to know. Anyways, you need to understand that you are more than what you think you are, even if you don't think so yourself."

Arlo thought for a second or two, before smiling "Poppa would've said something like that."

"Well it's nice to know you had at least someone to look up to. Many don't get that opportunity in the first place." Arlo once more took a deep breath, collecting in all that had been thrown at him ever since the Sky Mountain incident, before Butch spoke up again. "Now then, how about those stories, ey?"

* * *

 ** _Audio Message #24:_** ** _ ** _Subject Members 2 and 1 - aka Verena and Arlo, have travelled 0 miles (0 Km's)_**. For Verena, I can see great chances of her finding the information she needs in order to find out about Arlo's nearby presence, too much has happened on Arlo's side not to cause some rumors at least as far as I'm aware. As for Arlo, a strange condition I have not seen before, nor am I able to pin-point the exact cause of, has begun to develop. I am unable to find anything that matches with the symptoms, possibly due to the species that he is_** ** _ **. Regarding all this,** their survival score remains at a 4.8 and 3.5 out of 5 respectivly._**

 _ **End of message.**_

* * *

 **AN: Nothing this time, except for that Act 2 will most likely end next chapter.  
**

 **Next chapter: Every Cycle Breaks Eventually  
**

 **Fun Fact: N/A  
**


	33. Page 33 - Every Cycle Breaks Eventually

**Location: 35°44'21.37"N 139°51'34.17"E**

 **Time since asteroid impact: 1 month 6 days  
**

* * *

Rain poured down onto the window that had so far kept Verena's room safe and dry. One of the disadvantages to being on the top turned out to be the fast winds, which had made such noise to make anyone uncomfortable. The downpour had made it unable to see clearly across the city, in fact one couldn't even see the ground anymore, creating the illusion that the room was somehow floating in the sky. Such view clearly didn't make it any better for Verena, who was already in a bad mood after finding out that there were no records of Arlo, Ida or Libby in the Archives. She hoped that at least Henry or Buck was somehow in the remaining records to read, though Masahiro made it clear that the names were so common that it would take a few weeks to get anything down.

Fortunately Oscar and Ancilla had offered to help them out, stating that they had nothing much else to do for the day as they already ended their shifts at work for someone else to do. Clearly the rain was a sign that indoors was definitely better, at least Verena also didn't have much work to do either due to the sudden weather change.

Though the torrent muffled any other sound, a deep booming call somehow made it's way through. Loud enough to perk Verena's attention, she listened out for it and sure enough, a louder version soon came afterward. Every now and then the same low pitch sound echoed, getting louder and louder, until it sounded like it was abover her. After that though, it became quieter, though it appeared to be emitting from a direction different to when it started.

Just then Masahiro came into the room, drenched in water with droplets falling to the floor at a constant rate. "What happened to _you_?" Verena asked.

"You heard that call right? Well, apparently there's a massive storm on the way, so I had to go up top to extend the dome section out. It looks as though they're closing it fully for once, which means it could get even more windy up here." Masahiro did his best to shake the rain off, but to no avail.

Hearing a long sigh, Masahiro came up closer to Verena. "Something on your mind?"

"It seems as though I'm just staying here for no reason. I get that they could be here, but they could also be over at Clawooth Mountain by now." The large Siats gained a small smirk before responding, "I wouldn't be so sure about that..." Pulling a map out before carefully rolling it flat, he pointed to where Verena's home was. "That is where your home is. We are over here, across the ocean. Now, this ocean is where all of your family ended up in before getting seperated by the ocean currents. For the best case scenario for any member of your family, south of your home would be it, just under where the land becomes its thinnest."

"That means they could already be there by no-"

"Hold on, it _means_ that they'll be stopped by the borders, which are just north of said thinnest section. Even if they make it past the first border, it is likely that they won't make it past the secondary border since it's alot more stricter. That could be a good thing, since it's more likely that your family would end up over there. However, there is another ocean current that would take anyone caught up in it over to just south of where I found you. It can be just as likely that any of your family also took this current. By which they would end up here. What I'm trying to say is that in either case, they end up either here, or at a place that regularly communicates with here."

Taking it all in, her thoughts were soon overshadowed by the rising howling of the wind outside. "Looks like it's already starting, if it makes you feel any better we can board up the windows. For now though, I'm going back down to the Archives, you wanna come?" Masahiro asked. "Mmm... I'll catch up." And with that, Masahiro left the room. Verena looked out of the window and saw how clear everything had become after the dome had closed up. All the lights below reminded her of the stars, except brighter and yellow-er.

* * *

 **Time since asteroid impact: 1 month 1 week**

* * *

As the rushing winds continued to rage on, the dome had been vibrating hard enough to be felt on the ground. Any newcomer would believe that the whole thing could collapse at any point, especially someone like Arlo. For him the bi-product sounds made by the storm cause him to be unable to feel at ease. Whenever it would seem to get quieter, a new wave of wind would say otherwise.

"You okay Arlo?" Ivy came into Arlo's new room, which he had recently picked. It was a modest room, large enough for Butch to stand comfortably in, as well as high enough to ger a good view though not too high for Arlo himself to feel uncomfortable. "I'm fine Ivy, how are things out there?"

Ivy groaned, bewildering the apatosaur in front of her. "It's nothing bad for us, trust me. It's just that this storm may complicate things for when you travel back to your home."

"How?" Arlo asked, the slight look of fear of what Ivy was to say had crossed his face. "Well, in order for you to go back home, you need to go further north from where we are currently. Unfortunately that means crossing terrain that would be too cold for you to survive. I know it probably gets cold where you used to live, but up there... lets just say if you're not properly prepared then it can be very lethal. And with winter around the corner, perhaps you should wait for when winter ends?"

"I'm not sure my family would wait that long for me." Arlo said dully, to which Ivy shouted his name enough for him to nearly jump out of his skin. "You know well and foremost how dedicated your family can be. How long would you wait if _you_ were the first to arrive?" At first, he was about to retaliate that he would've waited a lifetime, but that gave him his answer to how dedicated his family truely was. If he would wait that long for his family, he knew very well that everyone else would do the same.

He eventually gave in, "You've made your point Ivy... How long would you wait?"

"Me!? I-" She quickly tried to stop herself from continuing, bewildering Arlo at first. "Nevermind, do you know how Butch is doing?" Arlo hadn't seen that tyrannosaur all day so far.

"Met him this morning, he said he was going to help find anything relating to your family. Something regarding the Archives, which is in the other tower. In this storm though, it's best if we should stay here."

Looking outside, able to see the other tower near the edge of the view, he wondered how things were in there. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

* * *

 ** **Location: 8°58'27.58"N 83°07'19.59"W****

 **Time since asteroid impact: 1 month 2 weeks 4 days**

* * *

It had been a day since they had left the city for the first of the two borders. It had become imperative for them to get across, however Ethine layed out a few rules for them regarding the mountains. Although the argument was long and heated, Libby spared no time to head onward. The border wasn't all that packed, which had indeed perked her interest, however she did find a sauropod near a building, which she assumed was where the border was at. Informing the adult of the current situation, the yellow sauropod went with Libby over to Ida and Ethine, both of whom had only just realised of their presense.

"Is there a problem I can help with?" He asked, and while Ida was about to have a word or two, Ethine clearly had a different approach. "Sorry to be a bother, these two are just worried about finding their family. Is there by any chance you've come across at least one who looks similar to these two?"

While Ida gave Ethine a termpermental glare, she had to admit getting anything out of that question would help them out. "I'm afraid you're going to have to be more specific, yesterday brought in a lot that wanted to pass through, hence why it is currently quieter. Perhaps providing me with their names can narrow it down."

"Henry, Buck, Arlo, Verena." Ida stated, she didn't mind telling their names, but the memories that came from saying them was enough for her to falter. Libby quickly noticing and moving closer to her mother. "Just say that we come from Clawtooth already!" Libby argued loud enough for all of them to hear, including the yellow sauropod.

"Now that you meantion it young one, I do recall one encounter from someone who said was heading towards those mountains." Ida quickly regained her composure just from those words alone. "Really?"

He nodded, "I believe Buck was his name, I looked back and saw him with another that I wasn't able to attend to. Much taller than Buck, higher than you... uuuh?"

"Ida, I'm Ida. My daughter here is Libby and Ethine over there is a friend of ours. I believe you were talking about Henry?" The sauropod they looked upon built up a puzzled look. "The name is Pelias, and I don't recall his name being Henry. In fact I went over to the individual who conversed with them, concerning the fact that both of them were heading to the same place. Apparently his name is Russel Apaton, and those two aren't by themselves either. Last time I saw them, they were accompanied by two others, both being of the Rexian kind."

It wasn't the talk of the tyrannosaurs that had made the adult apatosaur worried. "Who is this Russel?" She asked, a gleam of anger in her eyes, at least enough for Ethine to worry. "I'm sorry Ida, but I know only of his name and the fact that they have a map to get over to your home. If you request it, I can get someone over to the other border to stop them if this Russel guy is a concern to you. They'll walk back to the nearest town, which should be north from here. I'll have someone sent over to Oykot... again, to provide them an update about the status regarding the members of you and your family."

"Thank you so much Pelias. I don't know what to-"

"Don't worry, Ida. It's kind of my job to give help to those in need, as well as allocating information about those looking to cross the border. You've pretty answered all of the question anyways so you're free to head on through. I'll be on the look out for anyone else your family. It's just Arlo, Verena and Henry right?" Ida nooded, "In that case, three out of six, your family will be together in no time."

As the trio left the border, Libby saw the worried state her mother was in. _This Russel has a lot to explain_. She thought.

* * *

 ** **Location: 12°02'05.12"N 84°58'00.31"W****

 **Time since asteroid impact: 1 month 3 weeks 3 days**

* * *

Buck knew a week had passed since they had crossed the first border and ever since, they made past the city mentioned on the map, as well as a large lake not too far from the final border. Once again Buck was nervous about the aforementioned border, both because of how it was presented as a more stricter version of the one he met Pelias in, but also the fact that home was not going to be much of a challenge of going to after this one last obstacle. It wasn't that Buck didn't like there not being many challenges, but he definitely thought it was going to be harder to get to than what he had so far experienced. Nonetheless, the border came into view, and this time there were more individuals there.

Before they could even get anywhere near talking distance of the border, a large pterodactyl swooped down in front to block the view. Russel was the first to speak up, "What is the meaning of this?"

The pterodactyl raised their head to be on level with him, "You're Russel Apaton, correct?" the apatosaur proceeded to nod, "Then unfortunately there's been a change as to where you're going. You're to return back to the city south from here." Before anyone could ask as to why though, the pterodactyl flew up and away from the four individuals.

"What was that about?" Nash asked, both of the tryrannosaurs as well as Buck gazing upon Russel. "Don't look at me, I don't know what that's all about. Someone wants me to go back, I'll go back. Buck, you travel with Nash and Ramsey, they'll get you over to Clawtooth Mountain in no time." Buck startled, eyes fully surprised at the statement. "What about you Russel?"

"I'll be fine, I'm just going back to the city, see what's happening and if it's not too long I can catch up with you before you get there." As Russel started to move, he could see out of the corner of his view that nothing had begun to move. Swinging back around, he could confirm that Buck hadn't moved any closer to the border. "Well what are you three waiting for?"

"You." Buck said flatly, surprising Russel to say the least.

After a brief moment, Buck continued, "Russel, you and I may not know each other as much as we wish to, but that doesn't mean that your company hasn't made me feel safe. In fact, dare I say it, I feel more safe when you're around."

It was Russel's turn to argue "But ever since you were away from your home, you've only been around me."

"That may be true, but every time I wake up... I become very uncertain of what to do until I see that you're still nearby." He didn't want to say it, in fact he almost felt embarrassed for admitting vulnerability without someone like Russel being around. He wouldn't admit why, but it was just something about Russel that reminded him of home.

"I guess you can tag along. You two want to come along too?" Buck new that was towards Ramsey and Nash, who at this point exchanged glances, before nodding. "We'll come with. This map's only useful to you two anyways."

* * *

 ** **Location: 1**** ** **°44'20.83"N 78°55'35.44"W****

 **Time since asteroid impact: 1 month 3 weeks 1 day**

* * *

Henry had been sitting down on a new beach for at least a quarter of a day. His mind still wondering what happened to Negev a couple of weeks ago. He often concluded that he must've been back at his home since he went back to the beach he left. But a part of him would always wonder, what _if_ he was trapped in that other world. He didn't catch onto the conversation they last had, but it seemed that Negev was worried about what ever had come through the sky. Somehow, Henry had been caught up in something completely out of his experiences, and even now he had a hard time thinking why he had to be the one to go through this loop.

Sighing for the hundredth time, he gazed upon the blanket of clouds that prevented him from seeing the night sky. None of what happened made sense to him, he just wanted his family back. He knew it wasn't over, he didn't know how he knew, he just knew.. The crashing sounds of the waves breaking would briefly take his mind off of the topic though, and he liked that. It was then a part of him finally wanted answers, he wanted to be out of the cycle, just something to get him back to having a normal journey to his home. _Might as well get this over with_ , his mind thought. Glancing once more at his smaller companion, who by now was sound asleep on his back, he too decided to rest for the night, only this time thinking as hard as he could about the other places that he had now been two twice before.

...

Someone, he didn't know who, spoke something that caused him to stir from his sleep. Not knowing what had happened, he rose up and examined the area he was now in. For starters, the shining full moon was the first object he could recognise, its glow casting an eerie light upon the grassy hills that were in front. Slowly, Henry turned to see everything else, a birch forest was not too far behind, and the few trees that were beyond its boundery swayed gently in the quiet wind. He could tell which world he was in - the other farm - just at a different location. Something felt off about this place, and it felt close.

"Ahem."

Henry startled, turning quickly to see whoever spoke up. Before his very eyes was a brown-ish ankylosaur, he couldn't see many other details but she definitely seemed to want answers. "Who are you?" They both asked simultaneously, Henry held back a laugh before answering "I'm Henry. Sorry if I disturbed you, I'm not sure why I'm here exactly." The ankylosaur in question arched a brow, "My name is Arlie. So you're Henry?"

There was something about the way she asked Henry that unnerved him, as if something was wrong. Nonetheless he nodded, to which she pointed to a direction Henry was surprised to have missed. Resting not too far from them was none other than Henry himself, along with Arlo as well as a few other individuals who Henry didn't know. _This_ was the off putting feeling he felt, just looking at his other version made things confusing for the apatosaur. Having to physically shake his head, he looked back at Arlie to hopefully lessen the pain he had started to get. "Yes, I'm Henry. However I'm a different version of him... from another world."

Perplexed, Arlie questioned what he meant. "I don't know exactly what's been going on to cause this, Arlie. All I know is that I'm stuck in a loop between where I come from, here, and another. It always happens whenever something around my leg glows but... it's complicated." The ankylosaur softened, before pointing back at the doppelgänger. Sure enough, there was a physical device upon the other Henry's leg that emitted a glow similar to the one Henry saw on his.

It soon dawned on him what was going on, and after realising it, he wanted to slap himself for not considering it. "Of course!" Henry shouted, soon shutting himself up for not seeing how loud he spoke. Looking back at Arlie, he explained. "I think that device your friend has is the reason why I'm in this situation. You have no idea how glad I am to find this out." He sat down to look at the moon, and motioned Arlie to do the same.

"Is that Spot?" Henry heard Arlie ask, to which he looked over his back to find the critter still sleeping. "Indeed it is."

A moment passed by, in which Henry could finally start piecing things together. Whatever this Henry had done, he had managed to get something on him, that would occasionally glow... he wondered if this Henry was also having the same experience. "Do you by any chance know what happens when that... thing, Henry has, glows?"

"He stops moving when it happens. We worry about him until it stops, and by that point he continues doing what he's done like nothing happens. He doesn't remember anything that happens during those times, but we always suspected there was more to it... You don't think, he's been having the-"

"Same experience? I have no idea Arlie. This is the first time I've met him, and for all I know, he could've gone anywhere in those times. He could be somewhere right now for all we know."

Henry could see that his new aquaintance was studying him, "Is something wrong Henry?" she asked, "It's just, I want to get back to my family, it's just that this process keeps sending me further from where I want to be."

"Home?"

"I suspect Clawtooth Mountain has been partially destroyed from what happened. Things are not so well where I come from Arlie, with me and the rest of my family separated from each other." Again he looked back to see the same ankylosaur studying him, though with a more dismissive look. "You're biggest worry is not knowing the safety of your family. You remind me a lot of our Henry."

"Seriously?" Henry asked, though he started second guessing his question no sooner did he ask.

Arlie sat closer to explain, "There was a time when Arlo was so fightened of everything, Henry decided to give him the job of looking out for 'pests'. While we now know better than to judge critters for taking food, he was not too happy when Arlo couldn't defend himself from Spot. He took Arlo to the mountains in search of the critter, but a severe flash flood occured. While Arlo had been pushed upwards to safety by his father, Henry was swept far from his home. Me and Ben soon met him, and we were amazed just how determined he was to get back home."

"I see..." Was all Henry could say. He recalled the last day his family were together, where he unintentionally made Arlo find the critter. "I can sense that something similar nearly happened to you." Arlie interjected his thoughts.

"You a mind reader or something?" Henry asked in a deadpan expression, Arlie had her turn to hold back a laugh. "No, I'm just good at reading facial expressions. There's something off about you however, as if it's more than just your family you're worrying about."

"Negev, he's a friend of mine. As soon as I started going backwards from this process, he wanted to help see what was causing it. However the last time we went through, we were separated on the way back. It's the first time this process has moved me forwards and it's gone back to not making any sense." Henry explained.

All the information being dumped between the two had really gotten to Henry at this point. "Look, Arlie..." He continued, "Maybe uh, don't tell about me to the others. They will most likely not believe you and, quite frankly, I don't nessecarily want anyone else caught up in this tangled mess." Arlie had started to respond when he interrupted, "That goes for Henry as well, unless his first trip is to Negev, he will most likely be just as, if not more confused than we are. You telling him of another Henry is just going to make him more so confused."

"Are you telling me this because that's how you feel? Or are you telling me this because it's a genuine worry?"

"Both, really." Henry looked back once more to the glowing device on the other Henry, before looking to his front left leg which sure enough, had started to glow too. A curious thought rushed through, and he felt the urge to know what would happen. Slowly, he got off the ground and onto his feet, before ambling over to the slumbering sauropod. "Henry, what are you doing?"

Stopping right beside the apatosaur, Henry sighed one last time. "This cycle, I want to end it, and I have a funny feeling I know how to end it."

"Will w- will I ever see you again?"

Henry thought for a moment, "I'm not sure, only time will tell huh?" he looked back, to find that both of the glowing objects were now even brighter. Placing the two together, Henry saw white all around for a split second, before it faded away to...

* * *

Looking around once again, he found himself in the middle of a forest. Day time, unlike the night with Arlie. This time the trees were completely still - no wind - not even the leaves upon them swayed. One problem arose: no one seemed to be around.

"You shouldn't be here, Henry." Or so he thought, turning around he saw a Nyasasaurian, standing amongst the grass, something that had Henry confused. "Where are we?" Henry asked, to which the Nyasasaur walked closer "We're somewhere you shouldn't be. I don't know how you managed to get within this place, but for your sake, you need to leave." While the Nyasasaur was talking, Henry examined the individual and found various features different from the ones Henry met last time. It was only then he realised just how big this Nyasasaur was; almost his height.

As he continued to stare, a conclusion slowly built up. "You're The First One, aren't you?"

The Nyasasaur nodded "How you're able to make the material become passive is beyond me, that device Henry has may be the answer." This time it was Henry who came closer. "If you're indeed The First One, how did you-"

"Henry, I can see more than you can comprehend, I know everything about you, past, present, and future - blame the material for spoiling me - but I'm choosing the right words for you Henry. By the time you leave this place, you should have most of the answers you seek."

"My family, what of them?" Was the first question Henry seeked to find, but the Nyasasaur shook his head. "I said most of your questions. I do however know how to end the cycle you wish to break, though it comes at a cost. You did it not too long ago, you just need to do it again." _This guy surely knows a lot huh?_

"Indeed I do Henry, and don't even ask about that. You know fully well what my answer would be."

Thinking about what else to ask, he thought of one more question. "Will _I_ arrive back at home?"

"You will, all in good time. I cannot tell you how you'll arrive or what condition, but I know one thing. And I'll make this clear just once. Whatever you do, remember that your actions have made consequences. No matter which actions you're thinking of right now, they'll all come back either to greet you, or to punch you in the face. _Trust me_."

Having little to no idea what he was talking about, he moved the topic over "...So I just place my leg on-"

"Me. You can't see it, but Henry is about to do the same, though not with me. As soon as you arrive, give what you possess to Xela, only then will the cycle break." The Nyasasaur explained, Henry did as he was told, the same flash of light appearing again. Henry wished that whatever that forest was, along with whoever seemed to live in it, he would not return to it again.

* * *

Everything was different, the former 'grassland' had now become an ashpit, smoldering smoke rising everywhere. No sign of the river, except for the dip in the ground it ran through, could be found. Expecting to see the trail of smoke that signalled the town Henry had now come across twice, he found himself looking towards a town set ablaze. He found himself walking over to the razed town, he hoped Xela was not too far. The sky that once was so clear had now been covered by smoke-ridden clouds. A humerous part of him wondered how Negev would've reacted to seeing the carnage, perhaps there was a reason why the two were separated. Finally, almost everything seemed to come together, only one question remained. Just why did this need to happen? It was because of this Henry first unleased The First One upon this land, though unintentionally.

By now, he had already entered the edge of the settlement, searching through each and every building for any sign of life. _Nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing_. He repeated, with every negative find, he felt worse for laying this before these folk who knew nothing of what he and his kind knew.

"Henry?" He recognised that voice, "Xela! Where are you?" it was somewhere amongst all the rubble, and so he flipped over each piece with all his strength. With every shard of building he managed to lift, the calls of help became louder until they sounded right beneath them. While the last chunk was daunting, it wouldn't resist the adrenaline that rushed through the apatosaur. Xela threw a coughing fit as she scrabled up onto Henry's back in order to escape the smoke. While Spot had already woken up at that point, Xela made sure not to take too much space.

"Thanks for helping me, Henry. You have no idea what has happened since you and Negev left. There was this-"

Henry interrupted, having already some idea of what happened during the time he left, "Don't worry about thanking me, right now we need to sort this mess out. Have you seen The First One?"

"You mean the one that's been causing this havoc? He just left this place. Why?"

Henry turned around to meet her eyes, "I'm going to be serious when saying this, do you know which direction he went in?"

"Yes."

"Do you think you can catch up with him?"

"Yes? Henry why are you even asking that." Henry softened, "I need you to trust me, as in seriously trust me on this."

As he trudged out of the smoking town, the conversation continued "I don't understand why you-"

"Look, I don't know why, but I think I might know a way to stop him. But, I don't think I'll be able to do it myself. So..." He scooped Xela onto his head and placed her back onto the ground where she could see exactly what was glowing on his leg. "I need you to touch that."

She looked up to him skeptically "And how do you know that this will solve anything?"

Henry opened his mouth to answer, but found no conclusion. At least, not for a few moments while the fires continued to rage on in the distance. "I don't know if this will end it all... however, technically speaking this is in the past for me. And where I come from, The First One is merely history. And that means-"

"...That in order for that to be the case, he must've bene defeated somehow in this time. And, if we're on the same page, you're suggesting that what you do now will work no matter what?"

"Exactly! Although if I allow this to happen... he mentioned a high cost..." Thinking back again on the nyasasaurs' comment, the morbid curiosity of what exactly that cost was lingered. "No. This has to be done, cost or no cost, if this keeps us safe in the future, then it's worth it." Henry proceeded to move his leg forward such that Xela came into contact no matter if she wanted otherwise or not. A third bright flash of white was emitted, _Could this finally be it?_ "

* * *

Henry first believed that he had returned back to his usual place, and sure enough to his relief, the glowing was no longer there. While he was still doubtful that the cycle has completely ended, the fact that- _Wait why's it so bright?_ Henry thought, having just noticed how the clouds were a lot thinner, allowing the sun to shine through. His presumption of the thickening skies seemed to be wrong once more, but he was surely back on the beach, right?

Looking for any sign of the ocean, he had found himself realising that he was back at a _very_ familiar place. Things however seemed to have changed, for starters every other building looked worn out and in unstable conditions, and the snow- _Snow here?_

"Henry?" A weak, but nonetheless recognisable voice sounded from behind. In that moment Henry felt two things occur; the first being the bone-chilling cold of the air touching his skin for the first time, and the second being a sensation of a lot of time passing. Thinking that the time of day had caused the latter, he looked over to Negev, in which his eyes widended at what he saw. Negev had changed, appearing much thinner - more starved of food - and slightly older at the same time. Cautiously, Negev started walking towards the apatosaur, speeding up to a full on sprint by the time he made it over. Surprised by the embrace, Henry started to worry at just how much time had passed for Negev to miss him this much.

"You have no idea how long I've been waiting here for you." Negev had begun sobbing by now, his voiced muffled. After Henry patted Negev's back with his tail, Negev drew himself away to meet him face-to-face.

"You've been waiting here for _me_?" Henry asked, delayed due to the emotional breakdown Negev just had.

"Of course! I knew you'd eventually come back here, but I never thought that it would be this long. Did you find your-"

"No I haven't." Henry interrupted, "Long story short I met the other members of the other farm, the Nyasasaurian Empire is no more, and I gave Xela whatever I had. Straight after that I'm back here. It's only been what, about a couple dozen days?" While Henry had been wondering what was wrong, Negev walked closer, disbelief and surprise along every part of his face. To Henry it was as if Negev was questioning if what he had said was actually spoken. By the time Henry came out of his thoughts, Negev was so close then Henry was surprised that their noses hadn't touched.

With quivering voice, Negev explained.

* * *

"Henry, it's been three _years_."

* * *

 ** _Audio Message #25: This message will be split into 4 seperate parts along with a conclusion, as the whole family will be looked over.  
_**

 ** _Part 1; Subject Members 1 and 2 - aka Arlo and Verena - have travelled 0 miles (0 Km's). As much as Verena has the right to worry for her family, I can see the points Masahiro has. This, along with the points Ivy made to Arlo about the oncoming winter, it's safe to say that these two will be staying at Oykot for some time. Their survival ratings are a 4.8 and 4.3 respectively.  
_**

 ** _Part 2; Subject Members 4 and 6 - aka Ida and Libby - have travelled 196 miles (316 Km's). Their newfound knowledge of Buck's status has resulted in mixed feelings, which I was at first surprised by. Then again, without the proper context Russel would probably be suspicious to the whole family. Nonetheless, their survival rating is at 4.1 and 4.2 respectively._**

 ** _Part 3; Subject Member 5 - aka Buck - has travelled 433 miles (697 km's). Russel has been called back, unaware that it's due to Ida's worry over him and Buck, and while the whole message was unable to pass along, it seems nonetheless that they're all going along with Russel. Though for Buck it may seem like a backwards decision, but if he can get close enough to Ida and Libby, their chances of finding each other will definitely increase. His survival rating is at a 4.2._**

 ** _Part 4; Subject Member 3 - aka Henry - had travelled 1,960 miles (3,155 km's) before returning to Negev's. I... I am not sure how to describe the experiences Henry has just been through. While I am glad that everything that was previously out of his control has now stopped, I am mortified that it came with the cost of three years of time passed. His survival rating... right, well, lets put it at a 3.9 out of 5._**

 ** _Conclusion: In conclusion, many if not all members of the family have reached a complication that I hope will ease up in the coming days._** ** _ ** _I am more than frustrated about the 3 years lapsed on Henry's side, and will have to go back and see how every other member of the family managed throughout those 3 years. Nevertheless, I do wonder how everyone has coped, and if anyone had made it any closer to their home.  
_**_**

 _ **End of message.**_

* * *

 **A/N: While I had wanted to do an even distribution when starting this, I soon realised that most of the stuff couldn't be posted in just one chapter. So I've decided to put all the other stuff ontop of the next chapter. Sorry this is late. Hopefully the next chapter is less Henry orientated and more towards the others.  
**

 **Next chapter: Every Secret Breaks Eventually  
**

 **Fun Facts: Yes, this is the end of Act 2.  
**


	34. Page 34 - Every Secret Breaks Eventually

**Location:** **34°09'01.48"S 70°44'23.43"W**

 **Time since asteroid impact: 3 Years 2 months 3 weeks 5 days  
**

* * *

 _Three Years..._

Those two words, they reverberated with such intensity and might, there didn't seem to be any sign of those words becoming forgotten anytime soon. Negev was right there watching, waiting for what Henry would do next. He could see all the signs that what he had just said affected the apatosaur in a big way. Though surprised that Henry came back at this time, Negev was some-what prepared, having a whole library's worth of books to read helped.

A smile.

Negev hadn't quite seen that coming, and he was further startled when realising what exactly Henry was doing; holding back a laugh. Trying to look more serious didn't help either, as that seemed to cause the sauropod to no longer hold it back. While the laughter ensured, Spot had already come over to Negev, eyeing him with a worried look. "Don't worry Spot, it's just the beginning." Negev did his best to try and comfort Spot, having noticed how distressed he looked. However, the air from his lungs had been pushed out by him when Henry slammed into him. "Well tell me then, are you joking or not!?" Henry shouted, while Negev had been caught off guard by the sudden change in tone, he eventually caught up to the same page and exerted his own strength, nearly toppling the smaller sauropod. "Do you think I'm joking Henry? You don't even need to ask me, just look at your companion!" Negev hoped that would snap him out of it. And sure enough Henry took a long enough glance to truely take in how much had changed.

If that wasn't enough, Negev had also found a piece of reflective material and forced Henry to look at his own reflection. Negev could see the next change in expression as Henry started to realise the gravity of the situation. Though not sure how he was actually feeling, Negev hoped that it would end up towards the positive. "Henry, whether you like it or not, you've been gone for three whole years. I'm not entirely sure how less time occured between us two, though an explaination would be nice."

"An explaination is what you deserve." Henry finally spoke, his usual demeanor showing up. "Thank you, by the way. I really needed that."

"Hey, I wouldn't just leave you there in denial, it's at a time like that when one is easily vulnerable. I'm just surprised it worked that fast. Almost too... nevermind. Would you like to share your side?" Henry nooded, before proceeding to explain the scrambled mess of an experience he had just gone through. While first finding it a little uncomfortable to talk about it, Henry was soon able to share his experiences to Negev; Arlie, The First One, and Xela. By the time he finished, a heavy weight had been lifted.

Blinking a couple of times, Negev allowed the information to sink in. "That... I guess that makes sense. So to summarise, there's a device worn by an alternate yet similar version of you in which, once activated, sends you both into each others world to help those you encounter in some way, except it seems to have more of an effect on you since you needed to both unleash The First One as well as provide the nessesary means of stalling him, and when you broke the cycle it sent you back but at a different time. Is that correct?"

"Uuuuh, I'm going to say yes. But, I really don't want anything to do with it anymore. I seem to have done my part, and I have no means of looking back upon it." Henry began to examine through all the cavities in the walls. "What, are you doing?"

"Preparing for the long journey. What else?" Henry kept on rummaging through.

Negev sighed, though not because of the mess being made. "Look, I can help you with this. But I want one thing in return." That stopped Henry from what he was currently doing. Facing Negev, he wore a puzzled look. "What do I have that you want?"

"No no no. It's nothing you have on you. I want to tag along with you Henry."

"But-, what about Clawtooth?"

"What of it? It's just a dumb old mountain, there's nothing about it to worry about. Thanks for allowing me the opportunity to see that."

* * *

 **Time since asteroid impact: 3 Years 4 months 0 weeks 2 days**

* * *

"May I attend you two some food or drink?" A yellow sauropod spoke, seeing Negev and Henry walk nearby along with a critter, it had taken them a rather long time trekking the distance to the border, through the much colder temperatures. "No that's okay, we have plenty to go by." Negev replied, before they even got to take in how quiet everything was. The yellow sauropod seemed to have noticed, as they soon came right up. "Greetings, my name is Pelias. Guessing you're here expecting a hard border huh? Back when sky mountain hit, this place was packed with many wanting to head on over. It may have been a fairly long process, but once winter passed by everything calmed down a lot. Nowadays you hardly see anyone come by, not really much need of a border to be honest after what's been happening lately."

"Lately?" Negev and Henry asked simultaneously.

"Why sure, there was a terribl-" Pelias stopped, taking a better look at Henry. "Say, don't suppose I met you before?"

Henry momentarily startled, before regaining a calm manner, "I haven't met you before, but that does remind me. Have you met anyone with names like; Ida, Arlo, Verena, Buck or Libby?" He knew a nerve had been struck when Pelias gasped. "Yes! So _you're_ then Henry that Ida mentioned a couple of years ago."

"Did you just say _years?!_ " Henry faltered, however Pelias kept a warm smile. "Don't worry, I keep tabs with the city between the two borders, I heard that she along with Libby entered there. I haven't heard anything of their description leaving the city, so I assume they haven't left."

As Henry drew a sigh of relief, knowing how close that city was with Negev's map, Negev on the other hand continued the conversation, "Did anyone _else_ other than Ida go by?"

"You're heading over to Clawtooth Mountain aren't 'ya?" Henry and Negev nodded in response, "Then yes, Ida was with Libby, along with another named Ethine." Negev instantly perked upwards to face Pelias more directly. "Buck meanwhile tagged along with two Rexians named Ramsey and Nash, along with another who looks just like you. I believe Russel Apaton was their name." Negev had simply taken a glance, but that was all that was needed to see how stunned Henry was. He wasn't able to get a second glance of that expression.

Shrugging the thought off, Negev quickly thanked Pelias. "It's really no problem Negev and Henry. Oh and who's this?" While not too surprised that it took Pelias _this_ long to realise Spot existed, Negev nonetheless allowed Spot to interact with Pelias. "If you want to Pelias, you can always come along with us." If Henry had any water that he had yet to swallow, it might as well of been spat out at that very moment.

"I'd be glad to, work here doesn't need my help and the border isn't a nessesary thing anyways."

As Pelias, Henry, Negev and Spot headed on over to the city, the conversation carried onward, "So I would like to ask you Pelias to explain this 'terrible thing' you mentioned earlier..." As Pelias was about to speak, and Henry had started to feel calmer, Negev interrupted. "I want to ask Henry something. Who is this Russel guy?"

 _Oh boy_ , Henry thought.

* * *

 **Location:** **9°55'54.96"N 84°07'46.75"W**

 ** **Time since asteroid impact: 3 Years 3 months 2 weeks 6 days****

* * *

Buck could rethink of all the time they had spent in that city, or at least half of it. As it turned out the city wasn't as whole as Buck was first told. All he knew was that the strain of all the new civilians had caused resources to diminish, so in order to keep things remotely stable they had to split the city. While he had first thought of it as crazy, it turned out to have had a good payoff in the long term. Both parts had florished for the first two years, however it was at the third year part things had started to go downhill. Once more did supplies reach a critical, and while he and Russel came off easier, many others did not. As for their friends, they would constantly have to make trips over to the nearest coast in search for food, mostly fish but not all the time.

With that being said, Buck couldn't wait to finally leave the city. While they had only planned to stay there for a week for whoever called Russel back, a large storm had blown over, causing so much damage that everyone had to work to repair everything. Not only that, but talk of several volcanic eruptions to the north had made it impossible for the two to even leave until it was over, which turned out to be the rest of their stay. But that was over, the all clear was given, and they could finally leave the city. Ramsey and Nash had to take one more trip out to the coast, and in the while Buck and Russel were getting everything prepared. One thing they decided to do was to go out to the surrounding farms to get some non-parishable food.

"Come on Buck, this is no time for dilly-dally, it won't be long before Nash and Ramsey will arrive back and we're leaving as soon as that time arrives." Russel called out, Buck could easily tell that his companion was transitioning to a stressed out state lately.

"Perhaps if you weren't so tens-"

"I'm not tense!" Russel blurted out, quickly softening afterwards upon seeing Buck's point. "Okay fine, perhaps I'm a little overclocked. You think you can find some relaxative plants? I believe those might do." Buck went off over to any neighbouring areas of the farmland, politely asking for anything relating to Russel's request.

Not wanting to waste time, he made sure to get through as many farms as he could before it would to too late by the time he came back. However he managed to find one farm that had promising outcomes. Slowing to a saunter, he came to within neck distane of the owner. "Well hello there young fellow, how may I help you out?"

Panting from the recent run, he waited a moment for his breath to catch up. "I hope it's not too much to ask for but, do you by any chance have any uh, relaxant plants? A friend of mine has been feeling a little overstretched lately and recommended me to find some."

The farmer lit up before gestering Buck over to the plants. "You sure came to the right place, these Skullcap plants here are known to be very effective for what your friend needs." Buck's heart stopped beating for a second, while his brain had to wonder if what was said actually was said. Whatever his face must've looked like at that moment, he was sure glad that the owner wasn't able to see it before he continued, "Here's all you need for two doses, that should be enough. As long as you don't give it all to them at once you should be fine." Buck hesitated, seeing how little the farmer had actually given him. "Uuuh, so would you like some food as pa-

"Oh no no, it's for free. Besides, I have my own food." The farmer smiled, waving Buck goodbye as he left the vicinity. On his way back to Russel, Buck had second thoughts as to whether or not to give the skullcaps to him. However with the guidelines that the owner had told him, he hoped that Russel wouldn't mind. "Heya Buck, you found them?" Russel asked, Buck reluctantly gave them over to the apatosaur, who had either missed the mood Buck was in or ignored it. "Skullcaps? Haven't seen these around since... well, at least you got the right amount. That's all that matters."

Buck easily noticed the tone used, which made him wonder what Russel was referring to. "It's nothing really, the farmer that gave me this said not to use all of them in one go."

"I know that Buck, many know of the effects that arise from consuming too many of these in one go." At this point, Buck had become eerily confused as well as frightened as to what the older apatosaur meant by those words. And Russel could easily see that worry. "Ah, I should've known you weren't taught much about this plant. I guess it's a good time as any to tell you. Skullcaps are very effective, especially for our kind. That is why there's many limits on what to use, generally though the younger you are, the less you need. There's also different amounts, so small amounts like these doses are enough to make someone relaxed in general. Medium amounts, like using all of these plants in one go, can cause someone to be put into a deep sleep. However the medium amount has a very small range, which is why these aren't generally used to get better sleep."

Wanting to know more, Buck pushed on. "So then, why not give them-"

"More? No. If you give someone too much, then they enter a state commonly named the 'paraconscious' state. The subject will become fully awake if disturbed, however they will not be able to move or speak in any way. They just watch what's happening in front of them and can't do anything about it. That's not to say that they loose all functionality; one can breath in and out just fine. But the worst part is that once the subject is no longer in that state, they won't remember anything about what happened during it. They can remember over time sure, but we're talking about a couple to a few years. And even then if one does try to remember it in one go then they can easily pass out from it. It's not a nice experience from what I've heard."

With every sentence spoken, Buck felt lower and lower. He recalled what he did to Arlo the night before everything went bad, had he given Arlo too much? He was no longer interested if Russel could see his despair, it wouldn't help how guilty Buck was currently feeling. "Is something wrong Buck?"

"No!" Buck spat, soon becoming self aware of how he sounded before continuing, "It's just, that sounds so horrible."

He looked up to Russel, but a wave of worry flooded him when he saw how unconvinced he looked. "You don't look afraid or disgusted as if someone told you a grusome story. You look more..." Slowly, Buck's heart dropped as he saw Russel's expression transform from confusion to that of pure malice. "Who. Did. You. Do. It. To?" Russel spat in disgust, making Buck cringe internally at himself. "A-a-ar-arl-Arlo." Buck stuttered, too fearful of what Russel would do to be surprised at how feeble he was acting. The more Buck looked at Russel like this, the more he was reminded... he could feel all his injuries start to become numb again, and while Russel hadn't even laid a tail on him, he felt like something was blocking his throat.

As Russel took slow, heavy steps, the dried up ground underneath cracked under the weight. He could see Buck cower but his mind was too focused on Buck himself. With each step closer, Russel's blood boiled more and more, while Buck curled up tighter and tighter - a growing tension that had to snap eventually. Russel was about to speak up again, but hadn't thought that Buck would see it as preparation to lash out.

"Please Henry stop!"

Russel stopped in his tracks, all anger ceased in an instant. While Buck still curled, eyes closed in preparation, Russel took one good - long look - at what he hadn't seen before. He couldn't tell if it was the adrenaline or the sudden panic, but a lot of the blood in Buck had caused his scars to turn a more redish colour from his natural green, not a strong difference but one to make note of the outlines. Searching throughout them all, Russel noticed a few that gripped his attention, most notably a large footprint that covered a large portion of Buck's body. It was just the shape, but he slowly placed his foot exactly where the scar was. _A perfect fit._ Buck flinched, as if even the gentle pressure Russel applied felt the equivelant of a deliberate stomp. Russel had his turn to cringe inside, before faltering to the point where he had to get down on his knees to stop himself from falling. Buck took easy notice and regained a small amount of his composure to look at the other apatosaur. Slowly, Buck put two on two of what he said and Russel's reaction to it.

"I... I just didn't expect someone like you to have... look Buck I-" Russel was unable to finish what ever he was going to say, as someone came crashing into him right as he was about to stand back up. Whoever came by must've done it on purpose, but he couldn't see who had shoved into Russel as a cloud of dust had been picked up. Out of the left corner of his eye however, he could see four other individuals running over to the scene, two of them being Nash and Ramsey. One of the other two were about the same size as the tyrannosaurs, except with shorter arms and horns on the head. The fourth, however, contrasted from the rest of the crowd as they were much smaller, carried a green long neck and...

"Libby!" Buck yelled in excitement as he rushed over, ready to embrace her as soon as they came into contact. It was just then that Ramsey and Nash came over with more concerned faces. "What happened to you two while you were out there?"

Nash was the first to respond. "Well it's uh, it's complicated."

* * *

 **Location:** **10°00'19.85"N 84°07'14.54"W**

 ** **Time since asteroid impact: 3 Years 3 months 2 weeks 6 days****

* * *

A similar fate had occured for Ida, Libby and Ethine. Stuck on the other side of the city, they too had to wait for the all clear to arrive. And just like Ramsey and Nash, Ethine would constantly go out to the nearest coast, albeit a different one to where the tyrannosaurs went to. Big difference was, while Buck and Russel had a marginally avaerage quality, theirs were less so. With frequesnt ration days over the first year, and ration weeks or even months for that matter. Tensions rose futher on this side, and while the other side would trade frequently, it was far from enough. As a result, a lot more competition occured, specifically amongst the carnivores which Ida and Libby knew how to reason with. Rarely would there be a time when they actually had to defend themselves, but that's not to say that it never happened.

Ida and Libby had planned to stay just one more week in case another warning was put out, and as such Ethine made another trip. Each patch of coast she got around to would always be different from the last, this time a level of dread came about after seeing a more than average amount of washed up marine life and such. While Ethine was used to the smell, she was more distraught at the sight. Over in the distance she saw two large figures who had also come down to the coast. Given the hostility of the city, Ethine would make sure not to stray too close or even move further away as to not be seen. Better to avoid conflict rather than tempt it. However, she had been too caught up with the anomalous carcases to worry about proximity, and although the stench wasn't enough to deter her, it was enough to block the smell of anyone aproaching.

The sounds of feet pressing down against the sand boomed, being the first and only warning Ethine needed to realise two others had come close to where she currently was. Standing before her were two tyrannosaurs, both presumably looking for food. First Ethine resorted to reasoning. "Please, there's plenty to go around, surely you don't wish to take _all_ of this, right?"

One of the tyrannosaurs replied "Well we came here to-"

"If you want to start anything with me, go find someone else. I can't stay here long really." Ethine reasoned further, not acknowledging her interruption.

"We can't stay here long ei-" The other tried to say, however was interruped by the former individual.

"Nash! What did we say about discussing that with others?"

While Ethine did have some questions, she at least knew one of them by name. "Oh don't worry, I'm only here to get some food before I head on over to my friends, we're on over to- to Oykot." Ethine lied, but technically they were heading in that sort of direction, just not that far.

"Oykot ey? We could tag along with you lot if that's fine. We're going in a simi-" Nash was bumped by the other tyrannosaur, but he had said enough for Ethine to start thinking. Deciding to reveal more, she played the sly game.

"Oh, is someone not allowed to say where they're going? And here I was thinking freedom of speech being a thing still. Tell me, is it something that's not supposed to be said, or perhaps it's some _where_?" Ethine eyed closely. And while the more feminine tyrannosaur kept a poker face, she only had to look at Nash for any reaction. Sure enough it was that last word that caught him off guard for a split second. A sudden burst of delight ran through Ethine, allowing her to smile widely.

"I knew it!" She exclaimed, all the while Nash was being glared at. "Whaaat? You gotta admit she's good, Ramsey."

"Yeah right, good at spotting how obvious you were!" Ramsey scoffed back.

Ethine on the other hand had already finished putting two on two together and wanted to lay it out for the tyrannosaurs. "So then, now that we've established where we're going, how about I give you some names and see if they're hmm... familiar, to you? After all, it's not like it wouldn't matter, would it?"

"...Go on..." Ramsey peered into Ethine, as if trying to challenge her. Ethine on the other hand chuckled at the glare, as if mocking it. "Let's start with Russel Apaton, shall we?" While she didn't know who Russel was, from what Ida had told her, he was strange enough to be the first to call out. Ramsey no longer played dumb and started to charge towards Ethine. Fortunately, the carnotaurus was agile enough to evade the charge, just barely. "So Pelias was correct in his description of you lot. I should've seen it sooner."

"Wait, but that means- you were the one who wanted Russel back?" Ramsey certainly wasn't playing happy, Ethine payed no mind to it. "No. Ida was."

Something clicked in them, and Ethine felt a little more eased when she saw the two tyrannosaurs soften. "Ida and Libby are with me. And from what we know I assume Buck and Russel are with you. If that's the case excluding Russel we have three of the six members of the family. I suggest we let Ida and Libby know of this first."

"Why them? Why not we both split and let them know at the same time?"

"I don't know if you two would understand, but Ida doesn't exactly... trust this Russel. I can take your word on what Russel is like, but Ida will only be convinced by what she sees. In my personal opinion, one who isn't aware they're being judged is more natural than one who expects the judgement."

While Ramsey had whispered something to Nash, which Ethine could only assume was saying otherwise to her opinion, they both agreed to it not long after.

* * *

"And you've been here for how long!?" Ida exclaimed, Ethine had explained everything that she, Ramsey and Nash had realised. "It's been about three years." Nash responded.

"Given what Pelias told us Ida, I suspect that they were right at the northern border when they were sent back, and while we settled on the east side, they apparently settled on the nicer west side. Which explains why you never made contact before we did." Ethine finished.

She could see the concern starting to form on the apatosaurs face, no doubt it was about Russel. "Don't worry about him. We've agreed to tell you about this first."

"You mean they don't know?" Libby chimed in, to which Ethine smiled. "Not yet that is. Thought it would be okay if you would see for yourself what he was like."

* * *

 **Roughly 15 minutes later...**

Ida slowly got off of Russel, the later of whom started coughing all the dust out of his system.

"Apparently that plan didn't go so well when we saw what happened from a distance, I don't doubt that Ida thought Russel was going to harm you and uh... we both know how protective momma can be when one of us is in danger." Libby finished.

"Well, that's not what he was doing really." Buck responded, before being tightly embraced by his mother. Buck gulped as he predicted what was to happen next. "What went through your mind when you thought tagging along with this stranger would help you in any way?"

"Ida..." Ethine started, though overshadowed by Russel, who snapped "Hey!".

However Ida payed no attention to either of them. "You could've been taken away, or worse you could've been killed."

"Ida..." This time, both Ethine and Ramsey wanted to interject. "Like, look at these scars all over you, you've gotten seriously injured."

"Ida if you would just-" Nash and Russel spoke out. Ida meanwhile interjected, "And is that a footprint on you? What's he been doing to you?"

"IDA!" Ramsey, Nash, Ethine and Russel shouted in unison, stopping Ida from saying anymore while also making Buck and Libby falter. Ida swiftly turned over to Russel to have her say on him as a whole, but she never found the words once she actually looked at him for the first time.

Russel cleared his throat, before explaining. "Buck didn't tag along with me, I tagged along with him. I wouldn't dare hurt the son of a family. And those scars you see are of various causes, including the journey from Clawtooth to where Buck ended up, a wildfire, as well as minor conflicts that happened during our stay in this damned city. Judge me all you want but I have done nothing that has caused Buck harm."

"But then, what about-"

"Us?" Ramsey and Nash assumed, "We only wanted to tag along with them up until they got to their destination. After that, we would head on over to Oykot to meet our father."

Ida still had many questions to ask, "But what about the footprint?"

"That-" Buck chimed in, "Is from poppa." Ida and Libby gasped, while Ethine Ramsey and Nash exchanged surprised looks.

"Are you sure?" Ida questionned.

"You dare question your son after all he's been through." Russel spoke up in annoyance. "I can see where your frustration and anger came from, having seeing what happened between us two without context. But this, this is where I can't understand you."

"Runs in the family I guess." Buck groaned in annoyance, however his words had taken everyone off guard.

"Excuse me Buck?" Ida and Russel asked, surprised how united their words were.

Buck sighed in frustration. "You can't see it can you Russel. I saw what you did after I called out Henry's name. You know someone named Henry who kicked you out of the family at a young age with no one to save you. An then there's me, having done a smilar thing to Arlo-"

"You did _what_?" Ida was about to explode, but had been blocked off by the larger carnivores. "Thank you. As I was saying, don't you find it odd how Henry reacted the way he did to what I did. It was almost as if..."

Russel followed where Buck had been going, and a lightbulb went off inside his head. "As if he wanted to get rid of something that reminded him of his past. Of course, that would make sense. Henry felt bad about what he did to me but had no way of communicating that to me, and from what you've said about him, I take it he would've made sure to conceal that part of his life. It's why Ida here has no idea about what we're saying."

"Right, but then when I tried to do the same to Arlo, though going differently by the notion that Verena was there to change my mind, poppa was reminded of what he did to you, and so wanted to destoy that part of his past once again- not realising it was me until I pleaded for him to stop!"

A sudden atmosphere weighed down on everyone. "Okay back up a few... okay back a lot. Can you give us more context?" Ethine asked.

Buck and Russel decided to give proper context of what happened from their own experiences. For Russel, Henry in the past had also sedated him with the skullcaps, and like Buck he also sent Russel on a raft down the river. The biggest difference was that since no one was there to correct them like Verena had done to Buck, Russel hadn't been saved by anyone, and by the time he came out of it he had already moved so far away that there was no chance of ever finding his family again. As the years went by, Russel grew in solitude and learnt from experience. Never staying in one place for too long, his knowledge on the outside society grew. That all changed on the day of the mountain that came from above, Russel had been swept away by a similar but larger wave, out onto the same currents Buck was on.

"I wanted to reach Clawtooth Mountain, because our father told us that it was a place where no one could disturb us. I guess he didn't want us to get into the complications that I eventually experienced. I can see now why those mountains were told as undisturbed. I believed Henry would also follow suit and arrive there, which is why I was so interested when Buck told me of his home. I should've known that he was Henry's son from the beginning, I'm not sure how I _didn't_ come to that conclusion earlier."

"So wait, poppa is both... well, our father, and also your brother?" Libby asked.

Russel didn't catch on as easily as Buck did. "Yes, why?"

"Doesn't that make you our uncle?" Buck and Libby asked in unison. And with that both Ida and Russel stared at both them and each other. Russel gave an emphasised laugh, "I guess that makes sense. Buck Apaton. However, given the circumstances you've caused three years ago, that's not my biggest issue here."

"Then what is?" Nash wondered.

Russel's smile faded, a frown replacing, "It's Arlo. If there's something about the experiences of these skullcaps I've learnt, he's not going to have a good time when he tries to remember what you did, Buck."

* * *

 **Location:** **35°44'21.37"N 139°51'34.17"E**

 ** ** **Time since asteroid impact: 3 YeArs 1 month 1 week 3 days******

* * *

A long queue waited upon a well lit stand. While it wasn't much; the equivelant of a makeshift lemonade stand, bold lettering on the sign up top read "BREAD STAND (ACCEPTS SHELLS)". It was a small hobby that Arlo founded, ran by him and Ivy, and it grew attention throughout the tower they resided. This, along with leisure and story times, made up the majory of the days Arlo spent. Not once did they dare go back outside the tower, as it had grown too cold even inside the city to venture out for too long, and apaprently there had been enough capacity to get everyone sheltered. Regardless, Arlo certainly had a good time.

This day however, Ivy was the sole individual behind the stand, with not many customers. Shells somehow became a common currency, even though it wasn't exactly enforced by anyone. Ivy would gladly accept anything else in case one didn't have any, or even give them out for free to anyone who was more desperate. While she did think Arlo was too generous, she had to admit that it had it's payoffs amongst the tightened community **.**

"Butch? Since when did you like bread?" Ivy teased as the tyrannosaur became the first in line.

Butch scoffed, "Actually I just came here to help, if that's not too much to ask for."

"You know you don't have to ask." Ivy said, passing the bread over to Butch who gave it to the next customer.

"It's always better to be polite and ask than to just do and assume. I thought you would've known that."

"I do... Look, how's he doing?" Ivy asked, referring to Arlo.

The tyrannosaur rolled his eyes at the obvious change of topic. "He's doing much better, I'm still not sure why it keeps happening though?"

"I know what you mean, it's like the twentieth time it's occured. No one has any idea about it's cause. Well, there are ideas that are up for grabs, but all of them require so many assumptions."

"I mean, he's been able to tell more of what he was thinking about. Just now he was thinking of the night before the sky mountain came down. I believe something at that time is the cause."

"It's just figuring out _what_ happened." Ivy sighed in frsutration. "I'm just, worried about him."

Butch turned for a second before smiling at Ivy, "You don't have to for long, he's coming right up here."

Though it was great news, Ivy groaned in annoyance, "Just don't encourage him to do that 'menacing' look that he does when coming up here. Last time he did that some customers were genuinly concerned."

"I heard that!" Arlo raised his voice for them to hear, arriving at the stand not too long afterwards.

Butch stopped handing the bread over. "I guess since you two are here there's no point being here anymore."

"Aw come on Butch don't be like that!" Ivy saddened, however was soon bumped by the tyrannosaur. "I'm kidding, besides, one of us has to look through those Archives still. I know the leader won't allow you to go Arlo because of the risk of you going out... again, but it still means either me or Ivy have to keep looking. And since you're busy..."

"I get it Butch," Ivy exclaimed, "Try looking in the restricted areas, I know only those with an actual job there can go there, but if you ask nicely..."

"Or intimidatingly..." Arlo chimed in.

"Then you may be lucky." Ivy finished, soon passing more bread over and thanking the customer. "Ha! With Arlo around, what's any luck gonna do?" He grinned, leaving the two to their job.

While most of the day went by smoothly, evening saw the less busy of times, allowing the two to have a longer conversation. "While we're no where near to a cure, we are getting closer to finding out what could be behind it's cause."

Arlo perked up in both excitement and confusion "You do?"

To which Ivy nodded, "Mhmm, while we're not entirely convinced, it appears as though there's a certain memory you try to remember which is causing the effect to happen. While it doesn't help, it does narrow down the things that could cause such an effect. I think Butch has gone on a slight detour given how long it's been to see if there's any books on these symptoms. I feel that we're so close."

"So hmm, shall we close up for today?" Arlo asked, given the fact that no one had come over to them for a while. "Yeah, we should. In the meantime, at least we're able to narrow down what memory it was. Apparently it was the night before the sky mountain came. I know I shouldn't ask but-"

"I don't want to try to think about that. You know from experience what happens."

"I know, is there anything you can definitely remember without trying to think too much?"

Arlo had started to think, making Ivy worry. "Well, I know stuff about the evening before the night. We were tired from the farm work, I think Buck noticed how stressed me and poppa were and offered us some plants. Uuuuh, I don't recall anything much after that... hmm..."

"Arlo, it's best you don't think about that part, what's the first thing you do remember afterwards?"

"I... something about the house and silo having to be rebuilt. I believe a large object blew up above our home and wrecked everything, at least according to what poppa told me. I don't know how I could've possibly been asleep through all that."

Although Arlo himself couldn't feel it, Ivy could see that he was starting to get a tad drowsy. "Come on, lets take ya back to your room to rest." Arlo walked with Ivy back, with him slightly leaning onto her every now and then. She didn't mind, it had happened before, but she was impressed that at least it was improving. Before she could get Arlo to his room however, a familiar face was blocking the entrance.

By now, Arlo had drifted off completely, unable to hear what Ivy and Moorak would say. "I see you asked him _again_. You keep trying but always end him up like this." The leader spoke as if to make her ashamed, however she didn't buy into it just yet. "I'm only doing it for his sake, wouldn't you sacrifice some lesser good for the greater good?"

"Believe me, I have. You know what I taught you back when you were just a-"

"He doesn't need to hear that!" Ivy cut in, forgetting Arlo's current state. Moorak shook his head, "Deary me, you know he can't hear us talk. He doesn't know everything about you and I."

"Just because you raised me when no one else would doesn't mean I should listen to everything you say. I know what you want me to do and I'm not going to do it, he would be safe in his own room and doesn't need to be near you."

Moorak held his hands up in defence, "You're acting like I've done something wrong."

"I can feel you've done something wrong, I just don't know what it is." Ivy narrowed her eyes, however Moorak softened. "Cross my heart I've done nothing wrong. If it helps you can come along with me to know for sure that Arlo is kept safe. However, it would be ashame if that bread job were to be... out of service, for a day. You wouldn't want to dissapoint Arlo in that respect, would you?"

"Of course not, but I can agree on coming with you. He needs someone close by to watch him."

As Ivy placed Arlo onto Moorak's back (in front of his spine), she stayed close behind as they walked, "I know he does, I don't know how he handled life before he came here." Moorak responded, and while Ivy couldn't see it, he wore a devilish smirk across his face.

* * *

 ** ** **Time since asteroid impact: 3 Years 1 months 1 week 3 days******

* * *

Oscar and Ancilla meanwhile were down in the Archives, looking amongst all the records for anything, no matter how small of a clue, in search for any known relatives. In all the three years they spent in this tower, not a single record contained any relevance. They tried by name, then by species, then by location and even lookinginto profession. Nothing about the family had so far come up. Admist all the signs that the family had no trace, Verena's friends carried onwards, perservering. They would go through every single record, even ones that weren't about individuals, if they had to.

"Anything on your end?" Ancilla came about to ask. A small echo rang across the large room, not many came to this place anymore, if anyone at all.

Oscar shook his head, using his frill spikes to place each record back to their respective places. "Unfortunately not. How many more sections are there to do?"

"I wouldn't be able to count them Oscar, I just hope there's something here that can-"

"Are you two allowed to be here?" Someone questionned from way over on the other side. "We got permision from Masahiro, who's job is to be here."

The individual in question came closer, "Ha! I'll pay him a visit to find out for myself. In the meantime, you don't happen to know where the Border Reports section is. Do you?" Ancilla scratched her lower jaw with one of her claws, "Over there, one down and on the right. Perhaps we should start looking there Oscar."

"We still have to look through this pile first. One can never be sure what we could miss out on if we skip this."

"I like your thinking." The individual said, startling the two herbivores. "Must be looking for something, correct?"

Ancilla darted towards the individual, close enough to get a good look at him. "You must be Butch, what brings you here? Who would you be looking for?" Butch narrowed his eyes towards the therizinosaur, "First off, it's none of your business. And second, who ever said anything about looking for some _one_?"

Ancilla immediately flinched, having realised her mistake. "I-"

"Perhaps, if you can learn to not reveal things you don't intend to reveal, I can help you by looking at the Broder Reports section. Though I'll need the name of who you're looking for in order to provide help." Butch grinned wide enough for the majority of his teeth to show.

Ancilla gulped as Butch headed on over to the section, before blurting out "We're looking for Henry, Ida, Libby, Buck and Arlo."

Butch froze at that moment, turning slowly back towards Ancilla. "You and I. We have an issue."

* * *

 ** _Audio Message #26:_** ** _This message will be split into 3 seperate parts, as the whole family will be looked over.  
_**

 ** _Part 1;_** ** _ ** _Subject Member 3 - aka Henry - had travelled 4520 miles (7274 km's). I am not sure if Henry has fully adjusted to the fact that three years have gone by in a flash, nor can I tell whether or not the future will be kind to him. All I do know is that progress has finally been made and it sure is a long jump_** ** _. His survival rating is at a 4.1 out of 5._**_**

 ** _Part 2;_** **_Subject Member 4, 5 and 6 - aka Ida, Buck and Libby - has travelled 0 miles (0 km's). Although accidentally a secret, it has finally been lifted and made known to these three of Russel's origins as well as intentions, and while the tension is starting to lessen, I do worry for Henry what they will say to him whenever they meet up_** ** _. Their survival ratings are all at a 4.0 out of 5._**

 ** _Part 4;_** ** _Subject Members 1 and 2 - aka Arlo and Verena - have travelled 0 miles (0 Km's). Arlo is still experiencing lesser, but similar symptoms of what he first experienced 3 years ago, and while I can't sense what Ivy feels about Moorak, she has certainly gave me concerns regarding the leader. While Verena is unaware of it, Ancilla and Oscar have stumbled upon the truth of Arlo and Verena's proximity, and what lies in the adjacent future only time can tell. Their survival rating are at a 3.9 and 4.3 respectively._**

 _ **End of message.**_

* * *

 **AN: Late again I know, however I needed to flesh out some parts of this one to introduce some of the main conflicts of the final act. I'm sure you're able to see the big two conflicts that will arise. Surprise to say that this is by far my longest chapter ever, I'm not sure if I can make a longer chapter even if I wanted to.  
**

 **Next Chapter: Rock, Paper, Teeth  
**

 **Fun Fact: N/A  
**


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